Father and Son Sentenced After Poaching Collared Grizzly

A father and son have been sentenced to jail time, thousands of dollars in fines, and multi-year hunting bans after killing a grizzly bear in Idaho’s Caribou-Targhee National Forest last spring. Jared and Rex Baum of Ashton, Idaho, were hiking in a densely forested area near Island Park late last March when they opened fire on a sow grizzly with their Ruger-5.7 handguns, allegedly thinking it was a black bear, although no season was open for...

Poaching and Bambi: Does the Punishment Fit the Crime?

By now most of you have heard about the convicted Missouri poacher who was sentenced to watch the movie Bambi as part of his punishment. A lot of people, including mainstream media outlets, seem to be celebrating this creative sentencing. At MeatEater, we’ve got some serious questions about this approach to enforcing wildlife violations. By all accounts, poaching is the most heinous and egregious of wildlife-related crimes. This is one thing that...

Deer Processors Face 91 Charges for Poaching and Money Laundering

Eight people are facing criminal charges in a grand jury indictment after a deer processing outfit in Ohio was found to have poached more than 30 whitetail deer and stolen some 700 pounds of venison from its clients. The stolen meat, which A & E Processors skimmed from the harvested deer of their paying customers, was then sold for a profit. While five of the eight individuals named in the indictments were directly employed by A & E Processors...