MN: Hunter nabbed after posting kills on Facebook

November 14, 2010

Poacher nabbed after posting kills on Facebook

A 20-year-old Ham Lake man faces nearly $2,000 in fines and restitution for recently poaching two bucks and shooting an over-limit of Canada geese -- and then posting his exploits on his Facebook page.

Here's what happened:

The hunter posted a photo on Facebook of a small buck he killed in September during the archery season, then posted a photo of an 8-point trophy buck he arrowed in October. In Minnesota, hunters can kill only one buck per season. He later posted a photo of him and two buddies posing with 12 Canada geese they shot.

"In the caption, he wrote it was a 'three-man limit of geese,' " Muyres said. But the daily bag limit is three geese apiece, meaning they were three over their limit.

Someone spotted the postings and called the Turn In Poachers (TIP) line. Muyres confronted the men with their own evidence.

"They admitted everything,'' he said. "It makes it easy when you have all the photos.''

The bow hunter will lose his bow and both deer. He faces $1,000 restitution for the trophy deer, which scored 130 points, and faces charges for failing to tag the first deer, shooting an over-limit of deer and shooting an over-limit of geese. Fines could total around $800.

And it could have been much worse: He took the trophy deer to a taxidermist in Wisconsin, meaning he violated the federal Lacey Act by transporting illegally taken game across state lines, said Muyres. Officials could have seized the vehicle he used to transport the deer.

Meanwhile, his two friends will be cited for shooting an over-limit of geese.

...

. Baiting deer was again a problem in some areas, though officials said the number of cases might be down. Near Tower, three hunters in a camp faced losing their guns and paying over $2,500 in fines and restitution for baiting. Numerous hunters were cited near Virginia and Ely, too, and firearms were seized. "If you don't want to lose Grandpa's family heirloom rifle, don't use bait,'' said officer Marty Stage of Ely.

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