A 34-year-old Oregon man was sentenced late last month for a flurry of game violations that included poaching a trophy-class bull elk and a trophy-class buck in Grant County. Prosectors say Travis Alexander Palmer killed both animals with a rifle during archery season. He also happened to be spotlighting from his vehicle on a public road at night, and he definitely didn’t have the proper tags.
That’s because the Mount Vernon man is no longer eligible to purchase a hunting license thanks to a lifetime ban handed down in 2015 and 2024. Those sentences followed lighter revocations of hunting privileges which began when Palmer was a teen. The most recent violations secured yet another lifetime ban. This is the third time in a decade the man received such a sentence, and the fifth overall revocation of his hunting privileges reports the Rogue Valley Times, a local newspaper.
According to court records, Palmer had three warrants issued in March of last year that detail a number of wildlife offenses he committed in September 2023. Two were felony violations of wildlife law with “culpable mental state,” which means that Palmer was knowingly breaking the law. Five other charges included taking, angling, hunting or trapping in violation of a wildlife law or rule, and a sixth involved hunting with a revoked license.
A separate warrant for Palmer details 31 additional offenses, reportedly fishing violations. On Feb 25 he was sentenced to 55 days in jail, ordered to perform 260 hours of community service, and fined $22,500. He was also placed on probation and forfeited a rifle, bow, and other gear.
A few years ago Oregon doubled down on fines for poachers, with penalties up to $6,500 for each animal. In 2023, an Oregon man was fined $75,000 for poaching multiple game animals.
The district attorney who prosecuted Palmer’s case wasn’t immediately available for comment, but he did secure harsher penalties for Palmer this time around.
“Palmer is a habitual offender who does not care what restrictions are placed on him,” DA Jim Carpenter told the RV Times. “He is going to trophy-hunt or fish as he wishes without regard for the law or other people.”
Carpenter noted that actions by poachers like Palmer make it more difficult for “the law-abiding hunter and wildlife enthusiast” to pursue hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities, respectively.
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You can read more about the case over at the RV Times. Oregon is a member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, which ensures that hunting and fishing bans issued in one state are recognized across the U.S.
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