Cali couple brags about illegal wildlife exploits to plainclothes officers 🙈

The weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. 

So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours. 

Here's what's worth reading about today:

• Loose lips - Cali couple accidentally brags about illegal activity to plainclothes officers 🤦‍♂️

• Dog collared deer - PA woman pleads to keep her pet deer 🦌

• Guilty - Montana men plead guilty for bull elk poaching 👩‍⚖️

• Dog attacks deer - Crazy footage of a dog going after a mule deer 🦌

• Pulled overboard - Missing Aussie fisherman dragged overboard by shark 🦈

LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS
PLAINCLOTHES WILDLIFE OFFICERS BUST BRAGADOCIOUS AIRLINE PASSENGERS SMUGGLING ILLEGAL WILDLIFE

A California couple learned a valuable lesson about discretion after boasting about their illegal hunting, smuggling, and taxidermy activities to undercover wildlife officers. On a flight bound for San Diego, a pair of California Department of Fish and Wildlife canine officers were treated to a unique and unsuspecting on-board experience. Dressed in plain clothes, the two officers overhead the passengers seated behind them discussing their hunting exploits and couldn’t resist egging them on for more details.

Engaging the couple into a conversation, the young couple eventually went on to disclose that they were carrying a sea turtle skull from the east coast hidden in their luggage. With the unsuspecting couple boastfully disclosing information, the officers prodded the couple for more. As the conversation progressed, they went on to unknowingly reveal to the officers that they had illegally killed a mountain lion and bragged about their close friend’s legendary taxidermy room that they stated contained multiple illegally taken mountain lions, a wolverine and multiple wolves…

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🙈 Pennsylvania woman charged after finding castrated pet deer wearing a dog collar. In world where we constantly find ourselves saying “you can’t make this sh*t up”, a Pennsylvania woman has gone ahead and given us yet another excuse to use the famous phrase.

In a story coming out of Fayette County, Tammy Shiery is fighting back stating that she has the paperwork required to maintain ownership of her pet whitetail. Baffling wildlife officials, the deer was found at her home wearing a dog collar and was allegedly vaccinated and castrated by a local veterinarian. Looking to keep things above board, Shiery claims that she took all the steps necessary to legally obtain the animal - other than the fact that the two-year-old buck was born in the wild. While deer are legal to keep as pets, they must have been born in captivity and licensed as a domestic animal.

As of right now, the deer has not been euthanized as state wildlife officials decide what to do with the domesticated ungulate.

🧑‍⚖️ Two Montana men plead guilty for poaching bull elk. A pair of Miles City men, Archie Swift (22) and Jack Lufborough (47), recently appeared in Custer County Justice Court and pled guilty to several charges related to the illegal killing of a bull elk in Hunting District 704 on November 26, 2024.

The case began with an anonymous tip to game wardens, who identified Swift and Lufborough as suspects. The investigation, aided by a private landowner, revealed that the men had driven off-road on both public and private land and killed the elk on private property without permission. Neither suspect had the required permit for harvesting a brow-tined bull elk in that area.

Swift pled guilty to hunting without a license/permit, unlawful possession of a game animal, and failure to obtain landowner permission for hunting. He was fined $1,375, ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution, and lost his hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for two years.

Lufborough pled guilty to unlawful possession of a game animal and failure to obtain landowner permission for hunting. He was fined $820 and also lost his hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for two years.

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🐊 Watch your step, Sammy. Talk about close calls. This dude almost took a step on top of a damn crocodile.

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Proposal suggests longer hunting seasons in Vermont: The state says hunters are not killing enough deer, so they propose extending the season and expanding regulations to prevent conflicts and keep state forests healthy. Read the full story.

Wisconsin Gov. proposes increasing hunting, fishing license fees in state budget: As part of his 2025-27 Biennial Budget, Gov. Tony Evers has included expanding funding for childcare, changing terminology and now increasing fees for fish, game and wildlife licenses. Read the full story.

Florida officials seeking public input on potential statewide black bear hunt: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is seeking public input on regulated black bear hunting options across the state. Read the full story.

Off-leash dog attacks deer in Banff, prompts Parks Canada investigation: The incident, caught on a 40-second video clip that was circulated on popular social media site Reddit, shows the off-leash dog attacking the mule deer outside the Moxy hotel on Banff Avenue last weekend.  Read the full story.

Missing Aussie fisherman believed to have become entangled while retrieving shark, pulled overboard: The angler was initially reported to have been taken by a shark after falling off the boat, but another fisher denied a shark was involved and said the man was dragged overboard in a freak accident.  Read the full story.

Proposed bill would bring back the use of dogs in black bear hunting in California: The assembly member who represents Lake Tahoe and a large swath of Northern California has presented Assembly Bill 1038 that would bring back the use of hound dogs to hunt bears in California, something outlawed for over a decade. Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick (R-Alturas) states she authored the bill to control the black bear population in the state. Read the full story.

First Light.

📸 :@kallen.wildphoto

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