A man faces penalties after entering his Arkansas whitetail buck into a Louisiana big buck contest.
According to Whiskey Riff, Andrew Riels is a 27 tear-old from Crossett, Arkansas. Riels has been cited by authorities for allegedly poaching a massive, 15-point whitetail buck in Arkansas. Moreover, Riels took the poached deer and entered it into "big buck contest" being held in Louisiana.
Authorities accused Riels of harvesting the buck during illegal hours on September 8th, before entering the deer into the contest later that same day. The deer was killed near Riels hometown of Crossett, before being traveled to Bastrop, Louisiana for the Simmons Sporting Goods Big Buck Contest.
The incident would involve hunting contest fraud, which means that Riels could be facing jail time for his wrongdoing. The fraud itself can result in fines up to $3,000, as well as a year in jail. As for the violation of interstate commerce regulations, a $900 to $950 fine, and up to 120 days in jail could be leveled against Riels.
Arkansas Man Charged With Fraud After Illegally Entering A Hometown Buck Into A Louisiana Contest
Notably, the winnings offered in the Simmons Sporting Goods Big Buck Contest included a $10,000 shopping spree at the store itself. Likewise, the winner can win a Can-Am-4-Wheeler. Evidently, such treasures were enough to entice Riels to break the law, several times over.
Interestingly, the rules of the contest require contestants to harvest their deer within a 200-mile radius of the store. While Crossett is only a 30-mile drive from Bastrop, the illegal hours of harvest, and violation of interstate commerce regulations make Riels difficult to celebrate. It has yet to be confirmed whether the Arkansas hunter has been criminally punished to this point.
The entire story is reminder of the importance for outdoorsmen to police themselves. Outdoorsmen must look after themselves with a closer eye than any outsiders. Stories like this one allow negative press to run wild. After enough time passes, those stories will act as the basis for new laws. And eventually, the opportunities for outdoorsmen to get into the water and woods will become infringed upon.
