BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal magistrate judge in North Dakota has sentenced an Iowa man to a year of probation for unlawfully bringing two black bear hides into the United States from Canada.
Manitoba licensing laws prohibit more than one big game license of the same type in the same hunting year. Prosecutors say when Louis Floden Jr. was initially questioned by customs officials, he said he only shot one bear and the other belonged to another hunter at the same camp.
Floden, 69, of Pella, Iowa, later admitted he shot the second bear and knew it was illegal. Authorities say both bears were also killed outside of the designated hunting area allowed by Floden’s license. He agreed to forfeit the hides that he brought through the Pembina Port of Entry in North Dakota.
Magistrate Judge Alice Senechal also fined Floden $7,500 Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to unlawful transport of wildlife in foreign commerce.
“Game hunting laws play an essential role in ensuring proper wildlife management” said U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley, “and we strictly enforce these provisions as a component of our environmental stewardship obligations.”