SPOKANE, Wash. – A man in the state of Washington has pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill a protected grey wolf and send its pelt to a friend in Canada in exchange for a moose killed there.
William D. White of Twisp, Wash., pleaded guilty Wednesday in Spokane to three federal charges, including conspiracy to take and transport an endangered species.
The Spokesman-Review reports that charges against the 62-year-old man’s son and daughter-in-law are still pending.
The case stemmed from a 2008 report of a suspicious package that appeared to be leaking blood and had been left with a private shipping company in Omak, Wash..
The package was addressed to a resident in Alberta.
Police discovered the package contained a fresh wolf pelt.
According to the Spokesman-Review, a search warrant found emails talking about the eradication of wolves using traps and poison.
White reportedly had travelled to Alberta in December 2008, where he hunted illegally on a local man’s tag. He returned from that hunting trip with a moose and a whitetail deer.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Ohms said the investigation showed that White, and his family, engaged in a pattern of illegal game hunting.
Ohms said the wolf pelt was shipped to White’s Canadian hunting buddy who had helped him get the moose.
In addition to state and federal charges, White also pleaded guilty to two hunting violations in Canada.
As part of the overall agreement, White will be fined $38,500 and lose possession of a trap, two guns and any remaining wolf parts.
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