2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XIX - Agriculture and Conservation › Chapter 131b - Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact › Section 2 - Requirements of Participating States; Policies; Purpose of Compact

Section 2. (a) The participating states of the interstate wildlife violator compact find that:
(i) wildlife resources are managed in trust by the participating states for the benefit of all residents and visitors;
(ii) the protection of the wildlife resources of a state is materially affected by the degree of compliance with state laws, regulations, ordinances and administrative rules relating to the management of those resources;
(iii) the preservation, protection, management and restoration of wildlife contributes immeasurably to the aesthetic, recreational and economic aspects of such natural resources;
(iv) wildlife resources are valuable without regard to political boundaries, therefore every person shall be required to comply with wildlife preservation, protection, management and restoration laws, ordinances and administrative rules and regulations of the participating states as a condition precedent to the continuance or issuance of a license to hunt, fish, trap or possess wildlife;
(v) violations of wildlife laws interfere with the management of wildlife resources and may endanger the safety of people and property;
(vi) the mobility of many wildlife law violators necessitates the maintenance of channels of communication among the various states;
(vii) a person who is cited for a wildlife violation in a state other than that person's home state may be:
(A) required to post collateral or a bond to secure appearance for a trial at a later date;
(B) if unable to post collateral or bond, taken into custody until the collateral or bond is posted; or
(C) taken directly to court for an immediate appearance;
(viii) the purpose of the enforcement practices in clause (vii) is to ensure compliance with the terms of a wildlife citation by the cited person who, if permitted to continue on after receiving the citation, could return to a person's home state and disregard the person's duty under the terms of the citation;
(ix) a person receiving a wildlife citation in that person's home state may accept the citation from the officer at the scene of the violation and immediately continue on after agreeing or being instructed to comply with the terms of the citation;
(x) the practices described in clause (vii) may cause unnecessary inconvenience or a hardship for a person unable to post collateral, furnish a bond, stand trial or pay a fine and thus is compelled to remain in custody until an alternative arrangement is made; and
(xi) the enforcement practices described in clause (vii) consume an undue amount of law enforcement time.
(b) It is the policy of the participating states of the interstate wildlife violator compact to:
(i) promote compliance with the laws, ordinances, regulations and administrative rules relating to the management of wildlife resources in the states;
(ii) recognize a suspension of wildlife license privileges or rights of a person whose license privileges have been suspended by a participating state and treat that suspension as if it had occurred in each respective state;
(iii) allow a violator to accept a wildlife citation, except as provided in subsection (b) of section 4, to continue on, without delay, if that violator's home state is a party to the interstate wildlife violator compact;
(iv) report to the appropriate participating state, any conviction recorded against a person whose home state was not the issuing state;
(v) allow the home state to recognize and treat convictions recorded against its residents, when a conviction occurs in another participating state, as though that conviction had occurred in the violator's home state;
(vi) extend cooperation to the fullest extent among the participating states for enforcement of the terms of a wildlife citation issued in a participating state to a resident of another participating state;
(vii) maximize the effective use of law enforcement personnel and information; and
(viii) assist court systems in the efficient disposition of wildlife violations.
(c) The purpose of the interstate wildlife violator compact is to:
(i) provide a means through which participating states may join in a reciprocal program to effectuate the policies enumerated in subsection (b) in a uniform and orderly manner; and
(ii) provide for the fair and impartial treatment of wildlife violators operating within participating states in recognition of a violator's right to due process and the sovereign status of a participating state.