Man Ordered To Pay $74K For Poaching Trophy Mule Deer In New Mexico

SANTA FE, N.M. (CBS4/AP) -- A North Dakota man has been ordered to pay $74,000 in restitution for poaching a trophy mule deer buck in northwestern New Mexico. The state Department of Game and Fish says Cody Davis also was ordered to make a $3,000 donation to the Operation Game Thief program.

Authorities say Davis killed a mule deer out of season and didn't have a license. The investigation started in 2015 when game officers found a large headless buck near Lindrith. They put up surveillance at the site and caught Davis four months later when he returned to retrieve the severed head that was stashed nearby.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish pioneered Operation Game Thief to catch poachers and reward people who report them. It has been adopted by 49 of the 50 states, including Colorado.

"Since 1981, Colorado's Operation Game Thief has received more than 2,400 reports of poaching, resulting in more than 700 convictions. These convictions have netted over $600,000 in fines and have resulted in the seizure of more than 1,300 illegally taken animals," the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website states. "Almost $130,000 in rewards have been paid to citizens who reported suspected illegal activity."

In Colorado, poaching big game is a felony punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and three years in jail time.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)