Three guys have been sentenced in a federal courtroom for allegedly searching mountain lions in Yellowstone National Park.
According to People, Austin Peterson, Trey Juhnke, and Corbin Simmons, all from Livingston, Montana, committed the crime on Dec. 12 after they shot and killed a male mountain lion in the park’s northern segment.
According to an assertion from the park, the three men violated The Lacey Act, which prohibits hunting inside the park.
The three men admitted to shooting the lion and transporting the carcass again to their car, the declaration said. To begin with, Simmons tried to assert to have harvested the animal north of the park boundary in Montana.
At the sentencing, Peterson was ordered to pay about $1,700 in restitution and expenses and should serve three years of unsupervised probation. He is banned from hunting, fishing, or trapping internationally during his probation. Juhnke and Simmons received similar sentences. All three pleaded guilty to the expenses at previous courtroom hearings.
“I would like to express a sincere thanks to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, regulation enforcement officials at Yellowstone National Park, the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch, and America Attorney’s Office – District of Wyoming for being worried in this situation,” Yellowstone National Park Chief Ranger Pete Webster said in an assertion. “Their thorough paintings spotlighted this egregious act and the outcomes incurred for looking illegally in Yellowstone National Park.”
The National Parks Service explained, “Though seldom visible through the general public, biologists estimate that 20-31 adult cougars reside yr-spherical within the northern variety.” These estimates are primarily based on area surveys and statistical analyses. The providers introduced do not include kitten and sub-person cougars, which accompany a portion of the females yearly. Mountain lions are currently indexed as “threatened” through the National Wildlife Foundation.