Missouri poacher ordered to repeatedly watch ‘Bambi’
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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A judge in one of Missouri’s largest cases of deer poaching ordered a “special addition” to a poacher’s jail time.
As part of his sentence for illegally killing hundreds of deer, David Berry Jr. has been ordered to repeatedly watch the movie “Bambi.”
According to the Springfield News Leader, Berry is required to watch the animated Disney movie at least once a month during his year long sentence.
Court records show the defendant “is to view the Walt Disney movie ‘Bambi,’ with the first viewing being on or before Dec. 23, and at least one such viewing each month thereafter, during defendant’s incarceration in the Lawrence County Jail.”
Berry was convicted in Lawrence County, Missouri. Three relatives and another man were also caught in connection to the poaching case. To date, this group of poachers has paid $151,000 in bonds and $51,000 in fines and court costs and collectively served 33 days in jail.
In a news release from the Missouri Department of Conservation, prosecutors say the suspects have taken several hundred deer illegally over a three year period.
“The deer were trophy bucks taken illegally, mostly at night, for their heads, leaving the bodies of the deer to waste,” Lawrence County Prosecuting Attorney Don Trotter says.
More than 300 charges were filed on this group in state, federal and international jurisdictions.
In addition to the poaching conviction, Berry was also sentenced to 120 days in jail in nearby Barton County for a firearms probation violation.