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Nugent Won't Be Charged With Violating South Dakota Hunt Law
Rocker and outspoken hunter Ted Nugent will not be charged with violating any South Dakota game laws for shooting pheasants last fall after some of his hunting privileges were revoked in California, a state official said Thursday.
South Dakota and California are part of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, which allows 35 states to share information about fishing, hunting and trapping violations. States can also honor each other's license revocation.
California revoked Nugent's deer hunting license last Aug. 13 after he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of deer-baiting and not having a properly signed tag, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.
South Dakota officials determined that the loss of the California deer hunting license through June 2012 did not disqualify Nugent from obtaining a South Dakota small-game license to hunt pheasants, said Andy Alban, a law enforcement administrator within the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks.
State law requires people to disclose any existing license revocation or suspension when applying for a license.
"From our determination he did not knowingly violate any affirmation of eligibility laws contained on his license,'' Alban said.
Nugent was traveling and not immediately available for comment, a spokeswoman said. He had hunted pheasants in southwest South Dakota last October prior to speaking to a group in Rapid City.
Alban said the case was unusual in that it involved a partial loss of hunting privileges in another state.
"Normally these situations have been where somebody has all of their hunting privileges suspended in a former state,'' Alban said. ``In this situation, we had Mr. Nugent exercising a small-game privilege that didn't have anything to do with the principal offense that happened in California.''
Nugent was charged in California after game wardens said they saw him kill an immature buck on an episode of his Outdoor Channel television show. His attorney entered no-contest pleas as part of a deal with county prosecutors.
Nugent said in a statement later that he took full responsibility and should have been better informed.
Rocker and outspoken hunter Ted Nugent will not be charged with violating any South Dakota game laws for shooting pheasants last fall after some of his hunting privileges were revoked in California, a state official said Thursday.
South Dakota and California are part of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, which allows 35 states to share information about fishing, hunting and trapping violations. States can also honor each other's license revocation.
California revoked Nugent's deer hunting license last Aug. 13 after he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of deer-baiting and not having a properly signed tag, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.
South Dakota officials determined that the loss of the California deer hunting license through June 2012 did not disqualify Nugent from obtaining a South Dakota small-game license to hunt pheasants, said Andy Alban, a law enforcement administrator within the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks.
State law requires people to disclose any existing license revocation or suspension when applying for a license.
"From our determination he did not knowingly violate any affirmation of eligibility laws contained on his license,'' Alban said.
Nugent was traveling and not immediately available for comment, a spokeswoman said. He had hunted pheasants in southwest South Dakota last October prior to speaking to a group in Rapid City.
Alban said the case was unusual in that it involved a partial loss of hunting privileges in another state.
"Normally these situations have been where somebody has all of their hunting privileges suspended in a former state,'' Alban said. ``In this situation, we had Mr. Nugent exercising a small-game privilege that didn't have anything to do with the principal offense that happened in California.''
Nugent was charged in California after game wardens said they saw him kill an immature buck on an episode of his Outdoor Channel television show. His attorney entered no-contest pleas as part of a deal with county prosecutors.
Nugent said in a statement later that he took full responsibility and should have been better informed.