Post by Woody Williams on Oct 30, 2006 7:58:15 GMT -5
Bear baiters plead guilty
Joy Kimbrough/The Daily Times
Ernest E. Proffitt (right) pleads guilty Friday to a charge of hunting over a baited area in Blount County General Sessions Court.
By Darren Dunlap
of The Daily Times Staff
Two men pleaded guilty Friday to bear baiting near Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Tallassee resident Ernest E. Proffitt and Greenback resident James M. Collins each entered a guilty plea in Blount County General Sessions Court to the charge of hunting over a baited area.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers cited the two men and confiscated their rifles on Sept. 25.
Jeff Pearce, a TWRA officer, said the two men were hunting from an elevated platform in the Bell Branch area of Happy Valley. They wore no blaze orange, which is required by law. The area was baited with corn, pastries, cakes, breads, hot dog buns, bagels and turnovers, he said.
The area the two hunted over borders the Park. Collins, 46, and Proffitt, 48, had "gone to great lengths to gain an advantage over the animals," according to the officer.
Wildlife officers from Blount, Loudon, Sevier, Monroe, Jefferson and Grainger, took part in the surveillance operation that led to the arrest.
"We're continuing to conduct surveillance in Blount and surrounding counties over multiple bait sites," Pearce said.
As part of the plea, charges against the two men for not wearing blaze orange were dismissed. Both were fined $50 each and court costs, and they forfeited their hunting rifles to the TWRA.
Collins and Proffitt also lose all hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for one year
Joy Kimbrough/The Daily Times
Ernest E. Proffitt (right) pleads guilty Friday to a charge of hunting over a baited area in Blount County General Sessions Court.
By Darren Dunlap
of The Daily Times Staff
Two men pleaded guilty Friday to bear baiting near Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Tallassee resident Ernest E. Proffitt and Greenback resident James M. Collins each entered a guilty plea in Blount County General Sessions Court to the charge of hunting over a baited area.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers cited the two men and confiscated their rifles on Sept. 25.
Jeff Pearce, a TWRA officer, said the two men were hunting from an elevated platform in the Bell Branch area of Happy Valley. They wore no blaze orange, which is required by law. The area was baited with corn, pastries, cakes, breads, hot dog buns, bagels and turnovers, he said.
The area the two hunted over borders the Park. Collins, 46, and Proffitt, 48, had "gone to great lengths to gain an advantage over the animals," according to the officer.
Wildlife officers from Blount, Loudon, Sevier, Monroe, Jefferson and Grainger, took part in the surveillance operation that led to the arrest.
"We're continuing to conduct surveillance in Blount and surrounding counties over multiple bait sites," Pearce said.
As part of the plea, charges against the two men for not wearing blaze orange were dismissed. Both were fined $50 each and court costs, and they forfeited their hunting rifles to the TWRA.
Collins and Proffitt also lose all hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for one year
