Jason Keith Bruce, Smuggling Endangered Species, California 2025

Grimy Times has learned that Jason Keith Bruce, a 51-year-old big game hunter from Galt, California, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle an endangered Ladakh urial trophy into the United States.

The Ladakh urial is an endangered species of wild sheep that lives in the mountains of Ladakh, a region of India and Pakistan. According to court documents, Bruce was a client of a Pakistan-based hunting outfitter and guide company, led by Pir Danish Ali, who is accused of conspiring with Bruce to hunt and smuggle the trophy.

Prosecutors allege that Bruce and Pir conspired to declare the trophy as a different species to Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and presented forged documents purporting to be issued by Pakistani authorities. After the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service detained the trophy, Bruce and Pir allegedly lied to the agency about the true nature of the trophy.

A further investigation revealed that numerous other documents presented by hunters who had hunted with Pir's company to import trophies into the United States were also forged. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified at least 97 trophies brought into the United States pursuant to fraudulent documents by at least 25 hunters who all hunted with Pir's company between 2013 and 2018.

Bruce is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on May 20, 2025. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The charges against Pir are only allegations, and he is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Katherine T. Lydon and Whitnee Goins are prosecuting the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/galt-big-game-hunter-pleads-guilty-conspiring-smuggle-endangered-ladakh-urial-trophy