Uthmeier says he’ll push to increase criminal penalties for poaching next legislative session

Photo from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Facebook page.The penalties for illegal hunting or taking of wildlife in Florida could be about to get more punitive. Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that his office will advocate for the Florida Legislature to pass a bill next year to enhance criminal penalties for individuals convicted of poaching of animals. “Over the last year and a half since I’ve been in office as attorney general, we’ve received quite a few complaints where poaching is very prevalent here in the state of Florida,” Uthmeier said during a press conference in Panama City Beach. “We don’t have a lot of prosecutions when people are caught. Right now, most poaching offenses are mere misdemeanors. It’s a slap on the wrist and it has not been enough to deter bad actors who are out there breaking the law.” Poaching in Florida is defined as the illegal hunting, capturing, killing, or trafficking of fish and wildlife. The penalty for the unlawfu