ORIGINAL:I would still want more details even if I knew what the specific violation was (which we don't). But because you asked and it's just specultaion, let's take one. Shooting the deer after legal hours. O.K. was it just a minute or two aftersunset or before sunrise, something that's done ALL the time, orwas thehuntersystematically hunting in the wee hours by moonlight in blatant disregard of the law. IMO, in the former 500 is way too much and the latter, way too little.
How about another. Not having the right tag. Was it a violation because the hunter shot a doe and didn't even possess a doe tag (again a blatant disregard for the law) or was it because he thought the spikes were 3" long making it a legal buck but it turns out the longest was only 2 7/8" which technically would require a doe tag. Again imo it matters. In one example the 500 is too little, the other too much.
I'm sure anybody with a little imagination can think of many examples where the circumstances arounda violation would make a big diferrence in the severity ofa reasonablepunishment. But the article gives us no circumstances, no details, it just tells us that they broke the law. What should the fine be for breaking the law?
Good point Sylvan in your explaination, your right we need more info. However, with the info we do have, to receive "only" a $1500.00 fine per an hunter as you explain, may be because all 5 "non-resident" hunters shot the 9 deers 1 minute after shooting hours, "out of season" and that they could not determine the size of the antlers on these deers (well because it was after hours by a minute and too dark for them to identify, in which any good upstanding hunter would not have fired, JIMO)and forgot to properly tag them also seems a strech as well.
For a hunter, not to mention 5 hunters,to violate all these laws in one outing should be fined alot more in my opinion and have any hunting licenses revoked for life. Not to mention that their rifles, gear, vehicles should have been confiscated as well, if they didn't, just like they do with indivuduals that have possession of illegal narcotics.