An Illinois man has pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining whitetail deer semen valued at $55,000 from a buck in East Texas that he knew had been transported illegally from an out-of-state source.
U.S. Attorney John M. Bales says 55-year-old Raymond Favero of Braidwood, Ill., pleaded guilty Wednesday to acquisition of wildlife in interstate commerce in violation of state law.
According to court testimony, Favero acquired about 110 straws of semen from a Cherokee County buck in 2007.
Favero was indicted by a federal grand jury last month.
If the court accepts his plea agreement, he’ll be on probation for five years and pay a $150,000 fine to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Lacey Act Reward Account and $50,000 in restitution to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
Source: AP
