There was an investigation by Illinois Conservation Police into the tagged deer. IDNR received reports that a large buck had been harvested illegally in Hamilton County. IDNR investigated the case with the help of Alabama Department of Natural Resources. CPO officer Steve Jourdan handled the investigation for IDNR. It was concluded that a large whitetail buck was tagged illegally and IDNR and the Hamilton County State’s Attorney Office forfeited the confiscated buck capes and antlers from the hunter. The deer were located at a local taxidermist who recently finished completing the deer mounts for display.
There were a lot of local interest into this case since it involved a large buck that local hunters had seen and had been hunting themselves. The deer mounts will be located in the Hamilton County courthouse in the State’s Attorney Office. They will be on display for anyone who would like to see them.
Justin Hood says, ” I am glad these deer will remain in our community where they can be enjoyed by locals and out of state hunters wanting to see two great examples of large deer that have been harvested in our county.”
“It is important to follow proper procedure and not misuse deer tags because Conservation Police follow up on these type of cases, and a hunter thinks he is helping a buddy out and in the end they will have to pay fines and potentially lose out on a trophy buck.”
