Exotic animals didn’t stand a chance after hunters used illegal helicopter to shoot them
A group of exotic animals didn’t stand a chance of survival after being pursured by bloodthirsty hunters who chased after them in a helicopter.
Cody Morganthaler, 36, Edelmiro Martinez, 33, Eduardo Lopez, 39, and Inocente Sanchez, 56, all pleaded guilty to violated a federal law that bans using aircraft to hunt in the US.
The men were all sentenced to one year of probation were fined thousands of dollars for the illegal hunt in Laredo, Texas in 2017.
Prosecutors say Martinez, Lopez, and Sanchez, who was the pilot, organized the $12,000 hunt for Morganthaler, who shot four sheep and an antelope from the chopper.
Kevin Winters, the Texas Game Warden, told CBS: The circumstances in this particular case would make any sportsmen and outdoor enthusiasts furious.’
‘The fact that these individuals organized a trophy hunt from a helicopter, which resulted in the harvesting of a trophy Aoudad (Babary Sheep) and a Blackbuck (Antelope), is unethical and is a violation of both state and federal laws.’
Both an Aoudad and Blackbuck are legal to hunt in Texas and are considered trophy animals, meaning their heads are often kept and displayed to represent the success of the hunt.
Winters told KGNS that he was satisfied with the sentencing for the four men.
He said that the case was extremely rare and urged hunters to ask questions about proper hunting procedure before taking action, to ensure they hunt fairly and within the confines of state as well as federal laws.
The Airborne Hunting Act, which prevents hunting from the sky, is in effect in all 50 states.