I know we have some hunters on the site, therefore, I thought I'd post this interesting article..... October 8, 2006
Coming to Illinois in pursuit of the ultimate trophy buck was more expensive than planned for one Florida hunter who broke the rules.
A pair of hunting trips ended up costing William Wessinger Jr. $12,000 in fines, plus the loss of a white-tailed deer mount and a set of antlers with 32 points.
Wessinger broke the law several times in the course of two deer hunts in 2001 and 2003. Among his violations were improperly tagging deer, having another hunter check in a deer he had shot, carrying uncased archery equipment while using an all-terrain vehicle to chase a wounded deer, and transferring one hunter's tags to another's kill.
"Every year, thousands of men and women enjoy the challenge of hunting for a trophy white-tailed deer in central Illinois," said U.S. Attorney Rodger Heaton. "Some pay thousands of dollars and travel substantial distances for the opportunity.
"Unfortunately, in reckless zeal for the perfect 'trophy buck,' a few flagrantly disregard laws and regulations designed to protect both the wildlife populations and fellow hunters," he said. "As reflected in Mr. Wessinger's plea agreement to federal criminal charges, such flagrant disregard carries serious consequences and will not be tolerated."
In 2001, Wessinger killed two eight-point bucks in Pike County in violation of his permit, which allowed for one antlered and one antlerless deer to be taken. To conceal the violation, he tagged the animal with a permit from a hunter who had not yet shot a buck. He then took the heads and antlers home with him to Florida.
In 2003, another hunter wounded a large buck - one with 32 points
on its antlers - but was not able to retrieve the animal. Two days later, that hunter, Wessinger and another man went to look for the deer aboard ATVs with their archery gear uncased. The three hunters found the wounded deer and chased it, eventually shooting it multiple times.
The deer was loaded on to an ATV and taken to a hunting lodge a few miles away to measure the antlers to see if they were of trophy stature. However, Illinois rules require a deer hunter to tag an animal before moving it, and the outfitter refused to touch the deer until it was tagged.
Wessinger then put his tag on the deer, even though it originally was shot by another hunter.
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full article]
