A Vernal man was on a short list of Utahns that had their hunting or fishing licenses suspended this summer during a state license suspension hearing. The Vernal man was previously convicted in Uintah County Justice Court of wanton destruction of protected wildlife, allowing protected wildlife to waste or spoil and trespassing during a wildlife-related activity. According to the Wednesday press release, a DWR conservation officer received a tip that a man had shot a mallard duck and then posted a photo of it on social media on January 30th, 2020. “The officer responded to the site of the incident and located the man leaving the area. The man admitted to the officer that he had shot the duck with a rifle (which isn’t a legal weapon for harvesting ducks) and then left it near a canal where he’d shot it. The man led the officer to the area, which was private property marked by no trespassing signs. The man was under a previous wildlife license suspension order at the time he shot the duck. The hearing officer ruled that the case warrants a six-year suspension — doubled from three years because the violation occurred under an existing suspension order — of all hunting privileges for the man, beginning July 6th.”
