FWC officers crack down on illegal deer hunting in Walton

WALTON COUNTY, Fla. — Two people are facing charges, including taking deer out of season, following a recent investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in Walton County. The investigation also reportedly found a local taxidermy shop was out of compliance with wildlife regulations.

According to the FWC, the investigation was launched following a tip regarding an individual allegedly killing an antlered deer a week after the deer season had ended.

Officers Yates, Letcher, and Lieutenant Tison said their inquiries led them to a local taxidermy shop, where they reportedly uncovered 41 violations, including improper tagging and lack of harvest report confirmation for any harvested deer.

Additionally, the FWC said two alligator skulls were found without the required CITES tags.

Further investigation is said to have revealed that the suspect had not only taken the deer killed out-of-season to the taxidermy shop but had also dropped off a second antlered deer, suspected to have originated from Alabama.

During interviews, the suspect reportedly admitted to the illegal killing, while his friend allegedly confessed to killing an antlered deer in Alabama and importing its head, which contained soft tissue, into Florida.

The individuals involved now face charges for various violations, including taking deer out of season, failure to report in the deer harvest reporting system, and violating CWD importation laws.

According to the FWC, in addition to addressing the wildlife violations, the FWC officers are following up on the taxidermy shop’s violations to ensure full compliance with wildlife regulations.