MONTPELIER — Anyone thinking of violating Vermont’s fish and wildlife laws needs to keep in mind that they cannot just hunt, fish or trap in another state if their licenses are revoked here. Vermont is one of 45 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. 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 Col. Jason Batchelder. “Also, being a member state ensures bad actors from other states cannot come here to violate our fish and wildlife laws.”