Texas Man Sentenced For Transporting Illegal Elk
Wildlife officials concerned about untested elk
On Thursday a federal court in Rockford, Ill., sentenced Robert S. Johnson, 55, of
Kerrville, Texas, to five months home confinement and pay a $20,000 fine for illegally transporting 11 live elk from Wisconsin to a farm in Ogle County, Illinois. The investigation conducted by officers from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service revealed that Johnson did not have the elk tested for communicable diseases including chronic wasting disease (CWD) as required by Illinois law. On Nov. 6, 2008, Johnson pled guilty to one felony count of violating the federal wildlife law known as the Lacey Act.
Johnson operated two farms including the Hard Rock Game Farms near Leaf River, Illinois and raised elk for sale in interstate commerce. Between April 2003 and December 2005, Johnson transported live elk from Wisconsin to Illinois and according to the plea agreement, Johnson admitted that he did not take any blood samples from the elk for testing and did not obtain a veterinary certificate of inspection certifying the animals were free of tuberculosis (TB), CWD and other diseases. Although Johnson claimed the elk were being transported to Illinois for slaughter, the investigation revealed that Johnson solicited hunters to shoot the elk within a fenced area on the farm in Leaf River. Johnson charged between $2,000 and $2,500 for the hunt and on two occasions, traded firearms in exchange for hunting the elk. In each case, Johnson allowed the "hunter" to shoot and kill an elk and the elk was later transported across state lines. Johnson was not licensed by the State of Illinois to operate an exotic game farm.
Chronic Wasting Disease is a fatal disease in deer and elk in certain parts of North America and is transmitted between animals by animal-to-animal contact. The presence of CWD has been detected in deer herds in Wisconsin and Illinois, including the Illinois counties of Boone, Winnebago, McHenry, DeKalb and Ogle. Although there is no evidence CWD can be transmitted to humans, the disease does have implications for deer management by wildlife officials.
In addition to the five month term of home confinement with electronic monitoring, Johnson was ordered to pay a $20,000 fine to the Lacey Act Reward Account and was placed on three (3) years supervised probation with a special condition that Johnson perform 300 hrs. community service within the first six months of probation.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, with the assistance of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Texas Parks and Wildlife. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.
The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit http://www.fws.gov
