The Boone and Crockett scoring system isn’t adding up well for poachers facing criminal charges.

Instead of scoring their illegal kill with the system, poachers that get caught may face additional charges, fines and other punishment because judges are now using the Boone and Crockett system to evaluate penalties based on the animal’s score.

According to Outdoor News Daily and Boone and Crockett Club officials, game animals with large antlers and horns aren’t just trophies, but valuable conservation resources that warrant harsher penalties for abuse.

Ohio, Montana, Idaho and Pennsylvania all use the Boone and Crockett scoring system in certain parts of poaching law enforcement. For example, Ohio’s penalty for illegally taking a whitetail buck scoring 200 or greater ranges from $400 to $17,000.

 “Last year we had two deer with restitution values ordered in the area of $13,000,” Ken Fitz, law enforcement program administrator for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, said. “From a deterrent point of view, the law is still too new to evaluate, but I believe it’s having an effect. Under the old law, some people thought $400 in restitution was a gamble worth taking for a trophy buck. Under the new law, the stakes are much higher and not worth it for most folks.”

The Boone and Crockett Club backs the idea of using the scoring system as a way to determine poaching charge punishments.

“I can’t think of a better use for Boone and Crockett’s scoring system than assessing trophy-class fines for poaching trophy-class animals,” Lowell E. Baier, president of the Club, said. “All wildlife violations are setbacks for conservation, of course, but we’re especially pleased to see stiffer penalties for illegally taking an animal that is larger, has lived longer, is worth more as a benchmark of good management—and would have been a rare and cherished prize for a legal, ethical, license-buying hunter.”