MN - trapper fined for having a mounted Canada lynx
Iron Range trapper fined for having a mounted Canada lynx
Star Tribune
By PAUL WALSH
August 11, 2008
A 60-year-old man from the Iron Range was fined and put on two years
of probation for possessing a mounted Canada lynx, a federally protected
species.
Roderick R. Kottom, of Chisholm, was fined $1,500 by U.S. Chief
Magistrate Judge Raymond Erickson last week in Duluth.
Kottom, also known as Papa Fisher, was charged 18 months ago with two
misdemeanor counts and found guilty in April during a bench trial of
.unlawful possession of threatened wildlife.
According to court documents:
In December 2004, Kottom did in his possession a mounted Canada lynx
that had been taken unlawfully in violation of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973. The Canada lynx has been listed since 2000 as a threatened
species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources began investigating Kottom in December 2003 after
discovering an advertisement on a taxidermy Website by "Papa Fisher"
offering animal pelts for sale.
During a search of Kottom's home, authorities seized the mounted cat.
Last year, the longtime trapper was found guilty of state charges of
possession of a prohibited wild animal, misdemeanor failure to check
traps/snares, petty misdemeanor failure to provide identification of
traps/snares, and misdemeanor unlawful storage of protected wild
animals.
State conservation officers had been tracking Kottom's activities
since 2002. In 2004, conservation officers seized a number of fisher and
pine marten pelts from his home.
Kottom was convicted of possession of a prohibited wild animal and
received one year in jail, a $3,000 fine, two years' supervised
probation, a $962 fine and surcharge, and $200 in restitution. Kottom
also agreed to report as directed to probation authorities, remain
law-abiding and be subject to random searches.
For the misdemeanor failure to check traps/snares, Kottom was fined
$320. Hewas also fined $132 for petty-misdemeanor failure to provide
identification of traps/snares and $362 for misdemeanor unlawful storage
of protected wild animals.
