Here is a link about a major poaching bust in Ohio
http://www.ohiooutdoornews.com/

Too bad the punishment was so light. They should have thrown the book at them.

That's just it they don't hit'em hard and if they get caught they're still ahead of the game most of the time . If they would hit them financially or make them do the time it would be a big deterrent .

Same here in Pa.They get a slap on the wrist and loss of hunting priveliges. As if they are going to stop because they arent allowed a lisence.

I find it incredable that these guys can ignore the laws for that long and the punishment is a couple of thousand dollars and loss of a licence. If they were ignoring the law in the first place what sort of punishment is it to stop them buying a licence?

We had a fellow locally who was poaching the forests for pigs, using his dogs to take them, and he is suspected of being behind the theft of quite a few bucks off a deer farm. He was caught with the dogs and he was fined $5000. As he was walking out the court house he was overheard to say "All those years of hunting and it just cost $5000. What a bargain."
The owner of the deer has said that if he gets caught by him the poacher wont have to worry about the law, "community justice" will be applied and the punishments are way harsher.
The farmer went to the local pub with a mate and was overheard by the poacher and his buddies describing a punishment that involved a deep pit and a bag of lime    
Poaching hasn't been so much of a problem of late