Bragging Facebook Post Leads to Charges for Hudson Valley Hunter, DEC Says

A Hudson Valley hunter was bamboozled when his Facebook brags led to charges for illegally taking wildlife.

On New Year’s Eve, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation officer Chris Lattimer was informed by multiple people that someone from Orange County was bragging on Facebook about shooting four bucks.

Lattimer found the Facebook post and took screenshots of the person with the illegally shot deer. The post was soon deleted, officials say.

Lattimer and Kimberly Garnsey went to man’s home and interviewed him. After first lying, police say, the unnamed hunter allegedly admitted that he shot four bucks on his property and tagged two of them with his father’s tag.

The hunter said that three bucks were shot during the legal season and one was shot with a rifle during the late archery season.

The man added that he did not butcher all of the meat, which was later confirmed when one of the carcasses was found in a field behind his house, authorities say.

The hunter did allegedly have all of the deer’s racks, one that was made into a European mount.

The hunter was issued tickets for illegally taking protected wildlife, taking in excess of the bag limit for deer, taking deer with an illegal implement, possessing the tags of another person and for failing to report the take of deer. All are returnable to the New Windsor Town Court.

The European mount and one skull cap were photographed and seized as evidence. (Pictured below)

The hunter will not only face criminal penalties, but also may be subject to the revocation of his hunting license, the DEC say.