A Montana hunter who illegally killed a trophy-size moose in 2019 has received a lifetime ban from hunting and trapping in the state.
Shiloh Berry, 41, pleaded guilty last fall to unlawfully possessing and waste of a game animal, and hunting without a valid license. He was sentenced Friday in Broadwater County Court District.
According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Berry also received a three-year fishing ban and was ordered to pay $12,100 in restitution. He also received a suspended five-year jail sentence.
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An investigation was launched in November 2019 after Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks received a tip on its anti-poaching hotline. Wardens found the decapitated moose 17 miles east of Townsend. Nearby were “distinctive” tire and boot prints.
In April 2020, wardens were tipped off that Berry was in possession of moose antlers said to have been found at the same location. An authorized search of Berry’s premises turned up the antlers, which were an impressive 56 inches wide.
His boots and truck tires were found to have made the prints discovered at the scene. Berry confessed to killing the moose during interviews with wardens.
–Moose image courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service