Woman and Juvenile Suspects Arrested in 'Horrific' Deer Poaching Scheme Involving Hundreds of Deer

A 36-year-old woman and three 16-year-old boys have been arrested in a poaching scheme that has shocked a rural Wisconsin community. 

In a story coming out of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, a group of juveniles and their female accomplice have been implicated in a poaching case a local sheriff has referred to as “Senseless. Reckless and Indiscriminate.”

The alleged crimes took place in the Fond du Lac area between the spring of 2023 and the summer of 2024. According to a press release from the Fond du Lac Sheriff’s Office, the suspects, who reside in the town of Cambellsport, would reportedly ride around in their car looking for deer to hit. The report went on to say that the group would also take a spotlight along with them and use a rifle to shoot any deer they saw from the road.

“After the initial media release in July, I was asked by a media outlet to describe what I felt about the accusations. My gut response was: ‘Senseless. Reckless. Indiscriminate,’” Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan F. Waldschmidt said in a release. “Since that time, and after reading reports and observing video and photographic evidence obtained during this investigation, those words remain my best summation of the situation.”

Any of the animals that they ended up gunning down with the rifle or the car were typically left to rot, with the exception of bucks, whose heads would be removed as a trophy. As for the deer that survived any collisions with their car, they would sometimes allow the animal to continue suffering and use it as a source of deranged entertainment for themselves. 

In one incident, the Sheriff’s Office reported that the juveniles wounded a deer with their car before loading it in their trunk and proceeding to take selfies and video with the deer in various locations. One of the disturbing videos even depicted the suspects holding the still-alive deer, that was clearly suffering, while parading it around the inside of their home. The deer eventually succumbed to its wounds and died while in their possession.

In another incident involving a young fawn, the group was found to have captured the small deer along the roadside before again placing it in their vehicle and driving it around. They again took that deer to their residence, but did eventually release it back into the wild.

In addition to capturing and/or killing deer, investigators obtained evidence to believe these suspects also targeted and harassed other wildlife including geese, raccoons, possums, and turtles,” the release read. “These animals would oftentimes be captured, held in captivity and harassed prior to release.”

The following is a list of alleged criminal and civil DNR violations involved in this investigation. This list is not all-inclusive:

• Mistreating animals resulting in death

• Possession of a dangerous weapon

• Hunting deer with artificial light

• Hunting during the closed season

• Possession of a firearm while shining

• Possession of deer during the closed season

• Loading or discharging a firearm in or from a motorized vehicle

• Discharging a firearm from or across a highway or within 50 feet of the center of a roadway

• Hunting within 50 feet of a road’s center

• Transporting a loaded firearm in or on a moving vehicle

• Possession of game killed by unlawful or unknown means

• Hunting with weapon/ammunition of inherent design, or used in a manner, not reasonably capable of reducing target to possession (i.e. shooting an animal without the expectation of successfully harvesting the animal)

• Unauthorized taking of live wild animals from the wild

• Depositing or discharging solid waste on public or private property

• Obstructing a Conservation Warden

  “Wildlife and hunting are a deep part of Wisconsin’s heritage and history, and the horrific acts committed against these animals will shock the conscience of hunters and non-hunters alike,”  Waldschmidt said. “We’re thankful for the observant citizen who took the time to report their observation of suspicious circumstances to our sheriff’s office.”