A man could face jail time for not waiting a few hours to bag his deer. (istock)
An Oklahoma man could face poaching charges for illegally shooting a deer with a bow hours before the state's archery hunting season officially began.
The Oklahoma deer hunting season for archery officially kicked off October 1 – however, an unidentified man in Cleveland County reportedly could not wait and shot a deer with a bow and arrow on September 30.
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“We got a tip from social media that a man had posted a deer that had been shot on September 30, the evening of September 30, so it would have been a few hours before the season actually started,” Captain Wade Farrar, an Oklahoma game warden, told News 4.
Farrer said they start looking for poaching “about a month ahead of the season,” and then continue a month of two after the season has ended.
After receiving the tip, Farrer send he sent some people to look into the matter.
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“My guys went to investigate yesterday. The man claimed that he had shot the deer that morning and that he had checked the deer in online that morning. But, all the facts pointed that it was killed the night before,” Farrar said to News 4.
Farrer said the district attorney has not yet filed charges, but if they do the man could face thousands of dollars in fines and up to 30 days in jail depending on the charge.
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"When you go out there and your goal is to break the law, our job is to be there to stop you. And, of course, there are ramifications of that, be it a fine or jail time," Farrar said to News 4.
"Game wardens, our main goal is to enforce the fish and wildlife laws. Our goal, when we come to work every day, is to make sure that future generations have the same opportunities to hunt and fish that we've had," Farrar added.