The largest fine ever levied for a wildlife crime in US history was announced Monday. Benjamin N. Chason, 61, of Climax, Georgia, was ordered to pay $1.6 million for his involvement in trafficking deer from Ohio to Florida and his attempts to traffic deer from Georgia to Ohio.
The Columbus Dispatch quoted US Attorney Carter M. Stewart’s office as saying the fine was the largest ever levied against an individual in any US wildlife case. Chason was found guilty of violating the Lacey Act of 1900, which prohibits the trade of wildlife, fishes, or plants that have been taken, sold, possessed, or moved illegally. Chason was part of a trafficking operation to supply deer to be hunted.
It wasn’t hard for authorities to catch on and begin investigating Chason and his co-defendant, Donald W. Wainwright Sr. According to a Columbus Dispatch article from August 3, 2015, the deer could be visibly seen through the vents of the tractor-trailer the men used to transport them south on Interstate 71, with the first sighting occurring in 2010.
Wainwright Sr. is the part owner and operator of a breeding and hunting facility in West Liberty, Ohio, and the owner and operator of another in Live Oak, Ohio—both named Valley View Whitetails. Wainwright Sr. also helped with the operation of a separate deer-breeding facility named Cherokee Whitetails in West Liberty.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Ohio Division of Wildlife had been investigating Wainwright and his son, Donald W. Wainwright Jr., 29, for some time, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Wainwright Sr. pled guilty February 27, 2015, to twelve Lacey Act violations, one count of conspiracy, and one count of wire fraud. He received 21 months in jail, 200 hours of community service, and a $125,000 fine.
Wainwright Jr. was indicted on charges of conspiracy, for making false statements, and for violating the Lacey Act, according to the Columbus Dispatch. He received three years of probation.
The danger of Chason’s and the Wainwrights’ crimes is the potential spread of chronic wasting disease. Deer are allowed to move across state lines when approved by the government and certified CWD-free, but the deer the men shuttled across the eastern US were not certified.
According to court records quoted by the Columbus Dispatch, “Federal law requires interstate shipments of deer to be certified disease-free; because the deer in the present case were not certified as disease-free, herds (both captive and wild) in Florida were potentially exposed to these diseases.”
Other diseases, like brucellosis and tuberculosis, could also have been carried across the country by the untested deer.
The penalty amount was disclosed Monday and has been paid, according to the Dispatch.
Many wildlife agencies will benefit from the million and more in restitution. The money will include the following contributions:
• The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will receive $600,000
• The Federal Endangered Species and Wildlife Diversity Fund will receive $200,000
• Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks will receive $400,000
• Ohio’s “Turn in a Poacher” Program will receive $100,000
According to DeerandDeerHunting.com, Chason also agreed to publish a statement in North American Whitetail Magazine.
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