Poach and Pay Press Conference Reveals Dark Figure, Conservation Cost of Poaching
By Jodi Stemler, B&C Director of Communications
On September 9, the Boone and Crockett Club hosted a press conference in Washington, DC, to release the findings from the Poach and Pay research project, which is the most comprehensive evaluation of illegal wildlife crime in the U.S. CEO Tony Schoonen outlined the history of the research and the results, emphasizing that poaching is not a victimless crime and that hunters and poachers are not the same. Also participating in the press conference to answer questions was research lead and B&C professional member Dr. Jonathan Gassett, who is the southeast field representative for the Wildlife Management Institute, and his wife and co-researcher Dr. Kristie Blevins, who is a professor of criminal justice at Eastern Kentucky University. The press conference has already resulted in nearly 20 high value earned media articles with a potential reach of over 181 million as well as radio and podcast interviews—see links to top stories below.
The Poach and Pay research involved extensive surveys of fish and wildlife agency law enforcement officers, hunters, landowners, and convicted poachers, as well as interviews and focus groups with prosecutors and judges. Using this data, the Poach and Pay research determined that only about 4% of poaching incidents are detected resulting in a conservation cost of at least $1.44 billion annually in uncollected fines and replacement costs each year. The research also outlines the results of detailed interviews with stakeholders, typologies of poachers, and barriers to prosecution of wildlife crime. With this information and using criminology theory of how to deter crime, the research provides specific policy and outreach recommendations to help reduce the amount of illegal wildlife crime in this country. Detailed results and methodology are all available on B&C’s Poach and Pay website, or listen to our Heritage of the Hunt podcast interview with Jon and Kristie.
The Boone and Crockett Club and partners will continue the Poach and Pay project to implement these actions with the goal of reducing the dark figure of poaching. Specific next steps include developing proposed state legislative language to address recommended policy actions, engaging with prosecutors to present the Poach and Pay research and offer education on wildlife crime, and public outreach campaigns to increase the social stigma against poachers.
In The News
https://gearjunkie.com/hunting/boone-crockett-poach-pay
https://www.outdoorlife.com/conservation/study-wildlife-poaching-rates/
https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/09/13/boone-crockett-says-up-to-96-of-poachers-get-away-with-it/