“The individual admitted he had shot the turkey from a roadway and given the carcass to his friend as a birthday present,” the DEC said.
ARCADE, N.Y. — A Western New York man was issued five tickets after shooting a turkey, whose carcass was given to a friend as a birthday present.
The incident happened on Dec. 15 in the Town of Arcade, where a resident saw someone shoot a turkey in their field.
A resident quickly contacted the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation about a concerning incident. The resident provided an officer with details including a photo of a boot print in the snow on their property, a description of the vehicle involved, a potential license plate number, and the suspected location of the individual involved, as reported in a DEC newsletter.
The DEC officer visited the suspect’s home and find a boot print that matched the one in the picture and two turkey feathers leading to the garage.
Following an investigation, it was revealed that the individual had admitted to shooting a turkey from a roadway and then giving the carcass to a friend as a birthday gift, according to the DEC.
The DEC took action by confiscating the carcass from the friend and issuing five tickets to the individual responsible for shooting the turkey. The tickets were issued for various offenses such as taking wildlife from a public roadway, using a rifle illegally to hunt turkey, possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle, taking game out of season, and discharging a firearm on a public highway.
