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Five Hunters Fined a Total of $24,000, Ordered Not to Hunt
for Three-and-a-Half years for Killing More than 50 Ducks Over the Legal Limit
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 9,
2007
Contacts:
Tom
MacKenzie, (404)
679-7291, USFWS
Dani
Mochella, (561)
625-5122, FWC
Fort
Myers, Florida – The
U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission announced
today that five hunters
each plead guilty for
killing over the legal
limit of waterfowl
and wanton waste for
leaving behind many
of the waterfowl they
killed while hunting
in Hendry County, Florida.
These violations are
federal misdemeanor
crimes under the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act, and
carry a maximum fine
of $15,000, six months
in jail and five years
probation for each
count.
United
States Magistrate Judge
Douglas N. Frazier
found Florida residents
Javier Garcia, aged
35, and Manuel Rodriguez,
aged 37, (both from
the Tampa area), Daniel
Cruz, aged 42, Reinaldo
Roman, aged 36, and
Juan Perez, aged 37,
(all from the Miami
area) guilty for the
violations of federal
wildlife law. Each
were sentenced as follows;
Garcia received a $6,000
fine, Rodriguez and
Cruz each received
a $5,000 fine, Perez
and Ramon each received
a $4,000 fine and each
defendant was ordered
to pay court costs
of $70.00.
In addition, each defendant
was placed on federal
probation for three-and-a-half
years, with a special
condition of probation
that they may not hunt
any wildlife in the
United States during
their probation period.
"These folks were greedy," said
Jim Gale, the lead
special agent in the
Service's Southeast
Region. "They
are not hunters and
they've done a great
disservice to America's
hunting tradition.”
Gale went on
to say that hunters
for decades have paid
most of the freight
that has made many
of wildlife conservation
successes of the past
century possible through
the Pittman-Robertson
Wildlife Restoration
program, purchasing
duck stamps that benefit
land conservation,
and supporting of many
hunting conservation
organizations.
"These men showed a
shameful lack of respect
for wildlife, violating
the ethical standards
that true outdoorsmen
hold dear,” said
Major Brett Norton
Commander of Law Enforcement,
South Region, Florida
Fish and Wildlife Commission. “It
was great to work with
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service on the case. Such
partnerships are crucial
to protecting Florida's
natural resources."
According
to court documents
and information provided
in court, Garcia, Rodriguez,
Cruz, Perez and Ramon
were hunting waterfowl
in Hendry County, Florida
when Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation
Commission Officers
in the area witnessed
the defendants killing
many ducks. As
the officers approached,
the defendants continued
shooting more ducks,
then picked through
the ducks, taking the
ones they wanted and
leaving the rest behind. In
total, the defendants
killed 88 ducks, more
than 50 ducks above
the legal limit. This
equates to each hunter
killing more than twice
the legal limit.
The investigation was
referred to the United
States Fish and Wildlife
Service for further
investigation and federal
prosecution due to
the severity of the
violation and the gross
over limit of waterfowl
killed.
This
case was investigated
by the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service
and the Florida Fish
and Wildlife Conservation
Commission .
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