The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the Modoc County District Attorney’s Office have announced the settlement of a pronghorn antelope poaching investigation and prosecution resulting in the loss of hunting privileges, the forfeiture of the game, a $3,000 restitution payment and other penalties.
CDFW’s investigation began in August 2024 when its Law Enforcement Division, Northern Enforcement District received a tip via CALTIP of an individual observed illegally shooting and taking a pronghorn with a bow on private property in Modoc County.
CDFW wildlife officers responded to the location and determined that a male pronghorn had been illegally taken and initiated a poaching investigation. The investigation involved field interviews with witnesses, canvassing of the kill site, online records and other investigatory databases.
CDFW’s investigation pointed to Ernest Davis, 53, of Clayton as a person of interest. Wildlife officers contacted Davis at his residence and determined it was Davis who illegally poached the pronghorn with a compound bow and arrow. A formal complaint was submitted to the Modoc County District Attorney’s Office, which initiated the prosecution of Davis for poaching crimes.
A settlement agreement was reached at Davis’ Jan. 30 arraignment. Davis pleaded no-contest to violating California Fish and Game Code Section 2016 involving the illegal take of the pronghorn on private property with other violations being dismissed. The terms of the settlement resulted in a one-year summary probation term for Davis; the loss of hunting privileges while on probation; the forfeiture of the pronghorn’s meat; the requirement to complete a hunter education course; and payment of $3,000 in restitution.
“The Modoc County District Attorney’s Office takes all criminal matters very seriously. We understand the importance of individuals following CDFW regulations. Our office will continue to do our part in prosecuting and raising awareness on illegal hunting, ensuring public safety and assisting in big game population management,” said Modoc County District Attorney Nina Salarno.
“We have zero tolerance for poaching and those who would cheat the system and undermine the opportunities Californians have to legally hunt pronghorn antelope in this state,” said CDFW Chief of Law Enforcement Nathanial Arnold. “We’re grateful for the collaboration and support from Modoc County District Attorney Salarno, who shares our values of protecting one of California’s iconic big game species.”
The hunting of pronghorn antelope in California is a highly coveted big game opportunity but also one that is tightly regulated to protect declining populations found mostly in the northeastern corner of the state, primarily in Modoc and Lassen counties.
Only 137 pronghorn hunting tags were offered by CDFW in 2024. It can take many years, sometimes decades of applying each year through CDFW’s Big Game Drawing before a hunter is awarded a tag to legally hunt pronghorn.
CALTIP, which led to the successful outcome of this case, stands for Californians Turn In Poachers and Polluters, a confidential secret witness program that encourages the public to provide CDFW with factual information leading to the arrest of poachers and polluters.
Anyone witnessing a poaching or polluting incident or any fish and wildlife violation or who has information about such a violation should immediately dial the toll-free CALTIP number, 1-888 334-CALTIP (888-334-2258), available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If the information supplied by the caller results in an arrest, the caller becomes eligible for a reward. (Up to $3,500 rewards have been granted.) The case is then reviewed by a volunteer citizen’s group known as the “CALTIP Rewards Committee” to determine the amount of the reward. Visit the CALTIP web page for details.
Good he should not be allowed to hunt again!
He he’s that hard up for pronghorns go to Wyoming or someplace over there …..Calif’s should be left to breed & expand their boundaries …. 1 yr probation & $3K is not enough of a deterrent imho
Compound bows and crossbows suck.
All those cams, cables. wheels, sights & screws…. it’s an arrow launching machine.
Might as well be using a rifle… of course a poacher needs to keep it quiet.
Traditional archery with bows made of wood laminations & fiberglass are the only kind of bows bow hunters should use IMHO.
To get close enough for a sure kill on a pronghorn with an arrow takes real skill.
That should be the headline.
He was probably in a blind by a waterhole waiting for the game to come into range.
Not alot of skill, just stay downwind & be quiet.
You would need to have skills like being invisible to stalk up close to an antelope on open ground.
That’s a lot of probablys Jelly. Pronghorn are notoriously difficult to stalk and kill
even at rifle range.
But maybe you have information not mentioned in the story.
I don’t bow hunt anymore (getting old) but even at my age I could have someone with a 4 wheel drive drop me off and I could spend the day sitting & waiting quietly under some camouflage at a waterhole to maybe get a off shot. Just a little skill needed.
I’m not arguing & I could be wrong, but that’s how most bow hunters do it.
Maybe because this guy was a poacher he was dumb enough to risk stalking an antelope across open ground where he could be easily seen by animals & people and got himself busted when by some miracle he managed to arrow one.
Interesting that the pronghorn was using a bow on private property in Modoc County. What was the hunter using? Did the pronghorn have a permit?
FWIW – We used to have pronghorn antelope throughout Contra Costa County. When the Spaniards came they introduced cattle ranching. The cattle ate up and killed the perennial native grasses and wildflowers which tended to be green in the summer. A foreign invasion of annual grasses which are brown in the summer grew ended up replacing the native flora resulting in little to no food for the pronghorn.
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At one time I thought there were plans to re-introduce pronghorn antelope to the Concord Naval Weapons Station land. I suspect people then realized they first need to re-introduce the perennial native grasses and wildflowers and that may not be possible as the local climate is drier than it was 200 years ago.