Justice finally served in Utah

[IDVortex]

Out of curiosity; in your opinion, is it the game wardens (or their supervisors) falling down on the job or prosecutors not willing to do theirs?

We had a few counties (fortunately only a few) in Montana we could hardly ever get a wildlife case prosecuted; it wasn't lack of effort on the warden's part.

I'll say it's more the prosecutors and or the state not pushing for more. I'd say 99% of wardens are doing their part, it's everyone else. But that's how it is in any L/E career, but it's always easy to just blame the police for failing.

 

[WCB]

Appreciate the clarity! Yeah, that sounds canned to me. If the hunter isn't even willing to be NEAR the hunting area while things are taking place, then that just isn't right. At least with me personally. Sounds like they probably just run dogs day in and day out until they find the biggest cat, and then call up the fattest wallets to come kill it.

I would probably feel differently is the hunter was just in camp at least honestly.

I'll go against the grain. While it may be illegal it is really no different than the hound guys that tree a cat, build a fire and eat lunch with the cat above them in the tree. Not that I think it is right to call some dude hours away sleeping in his warm bed to come out and kill the cat...But what is the allowable time, distance, involvement needed? Again not saying what happened in this situation shouldn't be illegal and they deserve the jail time and fines etc. But the definition given in this article even to me as a fairly experienced hunter and former guide who had to know regs to a T, paints all hound hunting in a bad light. It basically says teeing or baying a cat is "canned" and unfair.

Again, you can't call teeing a cat and killing it 10min or an hour or two later after sitting watching it or taking pictures not canned...then magically because the guy that shoots it drives hours and kills later it is canned. The exact same act took place. Again I am 100% for it being illegal for someone not involved to get a call and drive hours to get their while the others have the cat. But that is where electronic communication or the assistance in taking wildlife laws I think would come into place.

 

[Sled]

I'll say it's more the prosecutors and or the state not pushing for more. I'd say 99% of wardens are doing their part, it's everyone else. But that's how it is in any L/E career, but it's always easy to just blame the police for failing.

With this guy and all his other troubles, there were accusations that he knew people in high places.

WBC,
Think of this like Al Capone getting pinched on tax evasion.

 

[Burnsie]

Am I the only one that read this and thought the definition of "canned" seemed a little funny?
When I first read the title I thought he had a lion chained to a tree and released it as a hunter arrived in pursuit, or controlled it in a similar fashion. Sounds like he essentially let hunters stay back until it was treed then called them in? If I'm sitting in the truck it's OK but if I'm in the camper 15 miles further it's not?

I had the same thought. If they were hunting out of season or in an area that doesn't allow cat hunting with hounds, then that is obviously big problem #1. But if they were running the cat(s) and treeing them legally, then everything would seem kosher up to the point where they called the client who was home laying on his couch. I would think the client would have some culpability in all of this as well - the article said the clients didn't even know they were participating in a canned hunt? Come on - really? Your at home, and get a call to hurry up and come out to shoot an already treed cat - nothing fishy here.
When I read the term "canned" I quickly assumed some type of high fenced or caged situation, so using the term in this case seemed a little odd. I guess the "hunt" was canned from the client's point of view, since they literally did nothing. In my mind it was scummy, unethical and illegal more than anything else. Sounds like this Lemon guy has a history of the same BS, he finally just got caught and prosecuted.

 

[Marbles]

^ that sucks

Demoralizing for law enforcement folks who bust their hump to put a case together only to have it go up in smoke with the prosecutor.

And sometimes it is the judges, or an appeals judge. If a judge knows it will get over turned on appeal then they are likely to make rullings that shape the case in the defendants favor. Likewise, if the prosecutor knows that the judges will favor the defendant, then they are less likely to bring the case.

Currently, in AK, appeals is making it hard to prosecute some cases (not wildlife related).

 

[Erict]

It is a little more clear in this press release from the US Attorney's office:

"Big game outfitter cheated, cougar hunts were canned

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A U.S. District Court Judge sentenced the final defendant today in a crime that involved a Utah licensed big game outfitter and his employee/cougar hunting guide in the District of Utah. The two defendants were sentenced separately for their involvement in a crime that defrauded hunters by leading canned hunts for commercial gain, in violation of the Lacey Act.

Wade Lemon, 63, of Holden, Utah, was sentenced July 18, 2024, to two months’ imprisonment, ordered by the court to pay a $10,500 fine, and a one-year commercial ban on federal land. According to court documents, and statements made during his change of plea hearing, Lemon admitted to illegally participating in “canned” mountain lion hunts on January 24, 2021 and December 15, 2020 on Federal BLM and National Forest Service land. Utah law prohibits “canned hunts” of mountain lions. A canned hunt means that a cougar is treed, cornered, held at bay or its ability to escape is otherwise restricted to allow a person who was not a member of the initial hunting party to arrive and take the cougar. The federal Lacey Act prohibits selling in interstate commerce any wildlife taken or sold in violation of state law. The Lacey Act defines the “sale” of wildlife to include providing guiding or outfitting services.

Lemon owns and operates Wade Lemon Hunting based in Holden, Utah. Lemon advertises his business on his website and boasts nearly 100% success rates yearly. However, Lemon has cheated in illegal canned cougar hunts and has defrauded hunters.

Kacey Alan Yardley, 47, of Enoch, Utah, was sentenced July 22, 2024, to six months’ bench probation, after he pleaded guilty to his involvement in an illegal canned cougar hunt with Lemon. As part of his probationary terms, Yardley is banned from federal land for commercial purposes. According to court documents, and statements made at his change of plea hearing, Yardley worked for Lemon as a cougar hunting guide and houndsman. On December 15, 2020, while on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, Yardley admitted that during a canned hunt, a cougar was held at bay and its ability to escape was otherwise restricted to allow a hunter who was not a member of the initial hunting party to arrive and attempt to take the cougar."

 

[Sled]

Wade Lemon, the Utah Outfitter Who Infamously Guided Donald Trump Jr., Will Do Prison Time for Running 'Canned' Mountain Lion Hunts

Wade Lemon admitted to leading illegal hunts where he and his guides would tree and hold mountain lions until a paying hunter could arrive.

www.outdoorlife.com

 

[SDHNTR]

Would like to know the specific circumstances of this incident and what exactly led to it meeting the definition of “canned”. What exactly does being “a member of the initial hunting party mean”? Where do they draw the line?

What if a hunter is on an outfitted lion hunt where more than one houndsman was involved. Everyone heads out early in the am and spreads out to cover more country. The hunter remains in the truck with the outfitter, participating in looking for fresh tracks. I think this is fairly common. Then a hot track is found by one of the other sub guides. The dogs are dumped, they tree the cat and it’s a big tom. The hunter is with the outfitter in another canyon several miles away and gets the call. Shows up, hikes in and shoots the cat. That’s illegal?

Sure, if the hunter is home in bed or sipping coffee in his jammies, that’s one thing. But what if he’s out looking for tracks elsewhere? I’m just curious how “being part of the hunting party” is defined as that seems to be a pivotal point here, and rather arbitrary.

 

[OKHunter84]

Sounds like if they're not a member of the initial hunting party then it is considered canned. From reading the release I would assume that even if the hunter is in camp while the guides are treeing a cat a few miles away and then calling the hunter, that would fall under this definition.

I mean in all seriousness why would you not be a part of the whole process anyways? What is the difference to showing up and shooting one in a pen and walking up and shooting one out of a tree when you did none of the work or weren't even there?

 

[Erict]

...What exactly does being “a member of the initial hunting party mean”? Where do they draw the line?...

Utah Cougar Guidebook 2024, page 18 should clear things up for many: "When dogs are used to pursue a cougar, the licensed hunter who intends to take the cougar must be present when the dogs are released. Then, the licensed hunter must continuously participate in the hunt until it ends."

 

[huntnful]

Utah Cougar Guidebook 2024, page 18 should clear things up for many: "When dogs are used to pursue a cougar, the licensed hunter who intends to take the cougar must be present when the dogs are released. Then, the licensed hunter must continuously participate in the hunt until it ends."

Well that is certainly pretty cut and dry, isn't it lol. Wonder if that perfectly clear statement was in the 2023 guidebook, or if it was a fresh addition to 2024 to clear things up?

 

[SDHNTR]

Utah Cougar Guidebook 2024, page 18 should clear things up for many: "When dogs are used to pursue a cougar, the licensed hunter who intends to take the cougar must be present when the dogs are released. Then, the licensed hunter must continuously participate in the hunt until it ends."

Ah ha

 

[AZ8]

Is this the same guy that guided someone or killed a RM Bighorn somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be?

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Is this the same guy that guided someone or killed a RM Bighorn somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be?

Yes, as well as a plethora of illegal guiding and poaching violations in Arizona and New Mexico, under the business name, A3 Trophy Hunts.

 

[ben h]

Well that is certainly pretty cut and dry, isn't it lol. Wonder if that perfectly clear statement was in the 2023 guidebook, or if it was a fresh addition to 2024 to clear things up?

This rule is also in the 2020 guidebook. Not sure when it was put in, but it isn't that new.

 

[SDHNTR]

Yes, as well as a plethora of illegal guiding and poaching violations in Arizona and New Mexico, under the business name, A3 Trophy Hunts.

Wade Lemon is/was A3 in AZ too? Huh? Thought that was Schimberg and Lopeman.

 

[huntnful]

This rule is also in the 2020 guidebook. Not sure when it was put in, but it isn't that new.

Good to hear. Sounds like there is zero discrepancies to what should have taken place in order for it to be a legal take.

 

[manitou1]

We used to hunt a certain Indian reservation for upland birds.
They had a regular customer there each fall for a couple of months that would fish in the early morning and then go bird hunting. We would let him join us on occasion. Nice older gentleman all alone with his dog.

While he was doing his thing, people working for the guide would go out looking for game. When they located a trophy that fit his perameters they would call him and come get him to shoot the animal.

Sounds like a similar process to me, although not a cat.

 

[TheTone]

Also issues with illegally baiting bears and even keeping a bear in a tree by building a fire under the tree while they waited for a client according to other online accusations.

Good riddance to another bad actor in our midst

 

[wapitibob]

Yes, as well as a plethora of illegal guiding and poaching violations in Arizona and New Mexico, under the business name, A3 Trophy Hunts.

Wade Lemon has nothing to do with A3.

As for A3,
guide Jed Larson took a hunter into the Res, claiming he didn't didn't know, even after spending months every year in that unit, guilty
A3 guide Brian Fisher poaching, guilty
A3 owner charged for flying helicopter to spot Elk for a late hunt, unknown