Steve Barclay, Transporting Wildlife, Texas 2008

Defendant Name, Crime, State Year

Steve Barclay, a 49-year-old Kennard, Texas, hunting and fishing guide, has been sentenced for transporting an alligator that he knew had been shot in violation of state and federal wildlife laws.

On August 13, 2013, Barclay pleaded guilty to the felony offense of transporting wildlife taken in violation of federal law and was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark.

According to information presented in court, Barclay admitted that on May 8th, 16th, and 20th of 2008, he witnessed John A. McCall, a client for whom he was providing guide services, shoot and kill a total of three alligators even though Barclay knew that Texas law limits hunters to one alligator per hunter per season.

Barclay admitted that he transported the alligator killed on May 20, 2008, in Leon County to Sportsman's Memory taxidermy shop in Grapeland, Texas.

The Endangered Species Act prohibits the taking of any threatened species of fish or wildlife in violation of any federal or state regulation pertaining to such species. Alligators are listed as a threatened species pursuant to the Endangered Species Act.

The Lacey Act prohibits the transport, receipt, or acquisition of any wildlife taken, possessed, or transported in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the United States.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest Region Special Agent in Charge Nicholas E. Chavez praised the cooperation of state and federal agencies in disrupting wildlife trafficking.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtx/pr/hunting-and-fishing-guide-sentenced-federal-wildlife-violation-gar-guy-sentenced