Michigan Poacher No Longer Allowed To Hunt, Must Pay $36,000 In Fines + Jail Time

A Michigan man will be paying a price for poaching, literally. Kurt Duncan of Pickford (Upper Penninsula) is accused of killing grey wolves, bald eagles, bobcats, deer, and turkeys. Not only will he have to pay $36,000 dollars in fines, and spend 90 days in jail, the 56-year-old man must also turn in all his guns, and is no longer allowed to hunt.

I cannot even believe this, not the the punishment, but the crime. How selfish do you have to be to do something like this? I can't help but wonder how many poachers escape the law?

Believe it or not, I grew up hunting with my dad. I would go deer hunting with him, and pheasant hunting. There were a few seasons when we did not have a bird dog. Guess who's job that turned into? Yep, mine. I hated being the one that had to walk ahead to scare up the pheasants. I laugh about it now, but trust me - I was not laughing then.

According to ABC 12, Duncan was charged with over 100 violations, but ended up pleading guilty to seven charges. They are as follows,

• Three counts of illegally taking wolves.
• Three counts of illegally taking bald eagles.
• One count of commercializing a protected species.

As we begin a new hunting season, I say good luck to all of you that actually respect the hunt. Also, if you bag that buck, and make some jerky, feel free to send some my way.