The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service have announced a Georgia man was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered forever banned from hunting and fishing in Kansas. According to court documents, 35-year-old Matt Jennings of Bowdon, Georgia, pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal taking of a white tail deer in interstate commerce.
Back on November 11th of 2022, Jennings killed an antlered deer near Florence, Kansas. His antlered deer tag did not allow him to take a deer in this part of the state. The next day the defendant drove to Oklahoma where he fraudulently registered the kill in Oklahoma using an Oklahoma electronic tag. Then on November 19th the defendant killed another antlered deer near Wakeeney. Jennings had a valid tag for that area of Kansas, but the killing of a second antlered deer in the same year is a violation of state law.
The defendant hosts a hunting show titled “The Game” on a streaming service. These two illegal hunts were featured as part of the show. A federal judge ordered Jennings to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and pay a $10,000 fine.
During his five-year probation, Jennings is prohibited from guiding, hunting, trapping, fishing, or being with anyone engaged in those activities in Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. He is banned from hunting and fishing in Kansas for life.