Anyone thinking of violating Vermont’s fish and wildlife laws should know that they cannot just hunt, fish or trap in another state if their licenses are revoked. Vermont is one of 48 states belonging to the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (IWVC), which recognizes fish and wildlife related license suspensions of member states.
Any person whose license privileges are suspended in one compact member state will have his or her licenses suspended in all other compact member states, according to a news release March 28. The IWVC assures that in participating states, nonresident violators will receive the same treatment as resident violators.
A violator who fails to comply with the terms of a citation issued in a participating state also faces the possibility of suspension of their wildlife license privileges in the other member states until the terms of the citation are met.
The goal of the IWVC is to improve enforcement of hunting, fishing and trapping laws through the cooperation of law enforcement units in member states.
“Belonging to the IWVC provides an added deterrent to Vermonters who might be tempted to violate fish and wildlife laws at home and then expect to hunt, fish or trap in other states or vice versa,” said Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s Chief Game Warden Col. Justin Stedman. “Also, being a member state ensures bad actors from other states cannot come here to violate our fish and wildlife laws.”
For more information visit: Vtfishandwildlife.com.
