A Missouri Judge has sentenced a man to multiple viewing of Disney’s animated classic Bambi as a result of a deer poaching case, according to Springfield News-Leader.
- Four members of a southwest Missouri have been found guilty in what conservation agents are calling “one of Missouri’s largest cases of deer poaching.”
- The case, in which authorities say hundreds of deer were killed illegally, was so egregious that Lawrence County Judge Robert George made an additional order on top of the jail time one of the poachers received.
- According to court documents, one of the defendants “is to view the Walt Disney movie Bambi, with the first viewing being on or before December 23, 2018, and at least one such viewing each month thereafter, during Defendants incarceration in the Lawrence County Jail.”
- The same defendant received a 120-day sentence in Barton County Circuit Court for a felony firearms probation violation in addition to a one-year sentence he received in Lawrence County.
What they’re saying:
- Lawrence County Prosecuting Attorney Don Trotter: “The deer were trophy bucks taken illegally, mostly at night, for their heads, leaving the bodies of the deer to waste.”
- Lawrence County Conservation Agent Andy Barnes: “It is unknown how many deer the main group of suspects has taken illegally over the past several years. It would be safe to say that several hundred deer were taken illegally.”
- Randy Doman, MDC Protection Division Chief: “In situations like this, with serial poachers who have no regard for the animals, rules of fair chase, or aren’t bothered by the fact that they’re stealing from others, it’s all about greed and ego. Taking just the heads is their version of obtaining a ‘trophy’ and leaving the carcass behind is merely an afterthought. While there are some cases where poachers go after the antlers for profit, with this bunch it was more about the thrill of the kill itself.”