Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Illinois man faces animal cruelty charges :: Prairie State Outdoors

Illinois man faces animal cruelty charges :: Prairie State Outdoors

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Prosecutors say a man from Calhoun County in Illinois possessed and sold DVDs of himself hitting, maiming and killing deer with his vehicle.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that 38-year-old Jarrod Lee Hayn of Kampsville, Ill., was arrested last week on two federal animal cruelty charges.

A link to Hayn’s Web site (http://www.deergonewild.com) shown last year on Prairie State Outdoors.com drew angry response from numerous readers. The Web site is no longer operating.

Although he had been indicted last month in federal court in St. Louis, the document remained sealed until he was taken into custody.

The DVD at the center of the case is called “The Deer Commander - Sudden Impact.”

Hayn’s attorney, Edward J. Fanning, told The Associated Press on Monday that an appeals court has ruled that the statute under which Hayn has been charged is
unconstitutional. He said the issue is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Prosecutors did not immediately return a phone call seeking a response.

Tim Schweizer, a spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, told the Post-Dispatch that the agency’s conservation police worked with federal authorities on the case. “We heard from a number of hunters, both from Illinois and around the country” who had seen the video and complained, he said.

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