GAYLORD -- One northern Michigan man acknowledges he's guilty of the crime of poaching.
But he said he illegally killed a deer only because of his lousy financial situation.
"It's feeding your family," he said.
State natural resource experts don't know whether Michigan's sour economy is causing more people to illegally kill fish and wild animals, but it's something they will watch for, officials said.
"Will we see a growing trend in the incidents of poaching because of the economy? We don't know. It's certainly possible," said Lt. Dean Molnar, a law enforcement supervisor with the state Department of Natural Resources.
Conservation officers occasionally hear the excuse of "putting food on the table" from those caught breaking fish and game laws. And officials know there are plenty of others out there who haven't been caught, Molnar said.
Among them is a 53-year-old Otsego County man, who admits he illegally killed a deer in Crawford County last November.
"I did buy a license for a buck, but shot a doe. It was a mistake. I thought it was a buck," he said. "Even though I knew it was against the law, I wasn't going to give up the meat. Waste not, want not."
Hunters are required to call the DNR when such incidents occur and conservation officers have discretion whether to write a ticket, Molnar said.
Potential consequences for misdemeanor poaching offenses include the loss of hunting or fishing privileges for up to four years, possible jail time, fines and costs, plus potential restitution to the state -- $1,000 for a deer, Molnar said.
Instead of reporting the shooting, the man gutted the doe and took the carcass to his home to butcher. The animal brought about 30 pounds of meat to his freezer, and the venison lasted until last month, he said.
"It cuts down on the food bill because you can grind the meat and make your own burger, too," the man said.
The extra meat certainly helped, the out-of-work carpenter said, with his fixed monthly income of $637 in disability insurance after two ankle surgeries in recent years. Typically, that money, plus state food stamps, still isn't enough to get by, he said.
And the Otsego County man believes he's far from alone in his willingness to violate state game laws to provide protein for their family.
"I think it happens quite frequently. I know of others who do it for that purpose," he said. "Most people do it for the meat. Some do it just to see if they can get away with it."
The DNR pursued and closed three deer poaching cases so far this year in an 18-county area across northwestern and northern Lower Michigan, compared to 51 last year and 53 in 2006. Those statistics include illegal kill and possession charges, but not open cases and various other types of violations, Molnar said.
Five cases of elk poaching occurred last year and three in 2006, but none so far this year. There also are 42 fish poaching cases to date this year, with 470 last year and 498 in 2006.
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