MILTON — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission filed these cases between Jan. 20 and 26 in Santa Rosa County:
- While on patrol in Blackwater Wildlife Management Area, Officer Land stopped to check two hunters standing near their vehicles. When asked to show their hunting licenses, one of the men replied that he was just driving around. The front seat of the man’s truck had a hunter orange vest; a rifle was in the back seat. Eventually, the man admitted to participating in man drives. He had no valid hunting license or required permits and was discovered to be a convicted felon when his information was run through dispatch. The firearm was seized and the individual was arrested for the violations.
- While on patrol near Gulf Islands National Seashore, Officer Land and Park Ranger Robinson stopped to check a group of duck hunters near Fort McCree. While Officer Land was inspecting one of their firearms, he found that it was capable of holding more than three shells. It is illegal to use a firearm capable of holding more than three shells while hunting migratory birds, so the hunter received a notice to appear for the violation.
- Officer Hoomes was notified of a trespassing complaint and, while working this complaint, he encountered two subjects squirrel hunting on the complainant’s property. These two subjects were not related to the original complaint. The subjects were issued citations for trespassing and for not possessing Florida hunting licenses.
- Hoomes was notified of an illegal deer killed in the Hutton Unit of the Blackwater WMA. He made contact with the person, who took him to the deer. The antlered deer was smaller than regulations allow for the area, and the person received a citation for the violation. The deer was seized and donated to a local charity.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Illegal hunting among FWC violations