A Raymondville man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday for using a pesticide to poison wildlife in Texas County.
Eric Laney Bryant, 45, was ordered to pay a $500 fine after pleading guilty to three counts of a misdemeanor information, according to Matt J. Whitworth, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri
Bryant, who operated a hunting guide service, injected Carbofuran (trade name, Furadan) into deer meat and placed the poisoned bait on his property in January 2009 in an effort to kill coyotes, according to a news release. He maintained the poisoned bait on his property until Feb. 26, when agents with the Missouri Department of Conservation located three dead domestic dogs, several coyotes, a gray fox, skunk, red-tailed hawk and three American crows — all of which were killed by Carbofuran — on his property.
Bryant pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act for using Carbofuran for an unlawful purpose and for using Carbofuran when he was not a certified applicator. Bryant also pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in relation to the deaths of the red-tailed hawk and American crows.