Big game hunters face federal wildlife charges for expeditions that killed mountain lions

Three big game hunters face felony wildlife counts for organizing rogue hunts in Idaho and Wyoming that charged people over $6,000 apiece for a chance to trek into the wilderness and kill mountain lions, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

The hunting expeditions were unlicensed and ended up killing at least a dozen mountain lions, also known as cougars, a federal indictment said.

Chad Michael Kulow, Andrea May Major and LaVoy Linton Eborn were indicted on conspiracy and charges under the Lacey Act, according to the Justice Department. The Lacey Act is a federal conservation law that prohibits trade in wildlife, fish and plants that have been illegally taken, transported or sold.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho said Kulow, Major and Eborn were licensed guides in the State of Idaho, employed by a licensed outfitter. But the mountain lion hunts they chaperoned were not part of the licensed and federally permitted outfitting service for which they worked, prosecutors said.

"During late 2021, Kulow, Major, and Eborn conspired together to commit Lacey Act violations, when they began illegally acting in the capacity of outfitters, by independently booking mountain lion hunting clients, accepting direct payment, and guiding hunts in southeast Idaho and Wyoming," the Justice Department said.

Mountain lions killed during the hunts were illegally transported from national forest land to Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, Texas, and North Carolina, according to court documents.

The Lacey Act makes it illegal to sell, import and export illegal wildlife, plants and fish throughout the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The law has exceptions for people who are "authorized under a permit" from the department.

Trio booked, led people on unsanctioned hunts

Clients booked trips with the trio and ventured into the Caribou-Targhee National Forest in Idaho and Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, federal prosecutors said. Hunts were done from December 2021 to January 2022.

Each of the hunters who hired the group paid $6,000 to $6,5000 for the hunt, court papers said. Under their licenses as guides, Idaho Fish and Game requires them to hunt with licensed outfitters. Outfitters authorize and manage bookings for hunts.

The three falsified Big Game Mortality Reports about the mountain lions they killed, prosecutors said. Idaho Fish and Game officials require hunters to submit mortality forms for large animals, the Justice Department said. The reports claimed a licensed outfitter oversaw the hunts.

The three are set to face a jury trial in November. Kulow faces 13 total charges, Major seven and Eborn eight for violating the Lacey Act, according to court records.

If convicted, the three could face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release for each violation.

Justice Department pursuing Lacey Act violations

The indictment announced Wednesday is the latest to sweep the nation as the Justice Department prosecutes Lacey Act violations across the U.S.

This month, a Montana rancher was sentenced to six months in prison for creating a hybrid sheep for hunting. Arthur "Jack" Schubarth is in prison after federal prosecutors said he cloned a Marco Polo sheep from Kyrgyzstan.

In November 2023, a safari and wildcat enthusiast pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act. Bhagavan "Doc" Antle is known for starring in the hit Netflix documentary "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness."

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at knurse@USATODAY.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter,@KrystalRNurse.