Randy Jimmy faced a court interested in his wildlife activities – for all the wrong reasons.
He was found guilty of trafficking four sets of white-tailed deer antlers, of profiting from the commercialization of wildlife and of weapons charges.
His fines for the four Wildlife Act offences under which he was convicted totaled $11,000 and he would forfeit his Ford Bronco truck, used in committing the crimes.
The road to Jimmy’s conviction began two years earlier with a phone call to the poacher tip phone line. Someone reported the sale of unregistered white-tailed deer antlers.
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An investigator was sent to attempt to buy a set. Not just any set but with racks measuring in high numbers on the Boone and Crocket scale, the method used to establish antler size. Saskatchewan holds the world record white-tailed deer at 2131Ú8. A recent kill in Michigan may challenge that title.
Jimmy was caught in a sting operation led by the Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management department that involved the United States Fish and Wildlife Services as well as other federal, state and provincial authorities.
The Glaslyn, Sask., man offered nine sets of antlers and heads to the authorities during an 11-month investigation.
“He only deals in American dollars. The ones he offered us were $900 to $1,500 each. … We bought one head to establish a relationship” said Ron Maynard, head of special investigations for SERM.
Jimmy also offered to pay $200 (U.S.) to undercover investigators to transport heads that had been sold to American buyers.
“The buyers are mainly from the United States,” said Maynard. “They know that the largest animals are from Saskatchewan. For those that don’t want to hunt for themselves, or wanted a really big head to tell stories about trekking through the Canadian North, snow up to their crotch and shooting this big white-tail and have the money, this is an easy way to get the deer they want.”
Investigators say they learned a lot about the trade in poached animal parts during the Glaslyn investigation. They found that many heads are shipped as Christmas presents and clothing items through the mail. They also learned about the trade between hunters, the numbers of heads that move south and that Americans are willing to pay high prices for white-tailed deer, legally or illegally gotten.
“Some are purchased legally, but many aren’t. A Virginia man paid $30,000 for a head. One (head) from near North Battleford brought $10,000,” said Maynard.
Officials say 95 percent of American hunters obey the laws and only a few are buying poached deer.
