October 14, 2010
Deer poacher gets lifetime ban on hunting
From the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission:
A Putnam County man known for poaching deer has lost his privilege to hunt in Florida, and dozens of other states, for life.
John “Jay” Frederick Badger Jr. of Palatka, pleaded guilty Oct. 7 to poaching and other charges filed in February by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Badger will begin a six-month stay in the Putnam County Jail on Nov. 5. After that, he will serve one year of house arrest, followed by three years on probation. He has forfeited to the wildlife commission his guns and contraband, including his mounted heads of illegally killed deer. He also must pay about $500 in court-related costs.
The judge permanently suspended Badger’s privilege to hunt. Not only did he lose that privilege in Florida, but also in the dozens of other states that hold cooperative agreements for convicted poachers.
Badger had been arrested and convicted in Putnam County in 1995 for attempting to take deer in a closed season, and again in 2003 for possession of does.
Anyone with information about illegal fishing, hunting or other fish and wildlife law violations should call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-3922 right away.