JACKSON, Wyo. — On Oct. 25, 2022, a Bozeman, Montana, resident formerly of Jackson, Wyoming, was sentenced on a felony Lacey Act charge, along with federal misdemeanor probation violations, in connection with illegal collection of shed elk antlers on the Bridger-Teton National Forest (BTNF).
The Lacey Act is a federal law regulating the illegal take and commercialization of wildlife and wildlife parts. According to BTNF, an investigation initiated by U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement in April 2021 revealed Joshua Anders Rae of Bozeman, Montana, was collecting shed elk antlers outside legal dates for areas west of the continental divide in Wyoming.
That same month, Law Enforcement Officers patrolling a winter range closure outside Jackson encountered Rae hiding illegally collected antlers under the cover of darkness. The longstanding closure was established to protect wintering deer and elk.
The investigation revealed Rae was the owner/operator of “Old West Antlers,” an online elk antler dog chew retailer. Rae had cut approximately 44 pounds of illegally collected elk antlers into short sections, some of which were consistent with those sold through his online enterprise. The April 2021 violations occurred while Rae was on federal probation for a 2019 misdemeanor Lacey Act conviction for the same offense in the same area.
In the previous case, Rae was sentenced to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, subjected to a five-year ban from entering the National Elk Refuge, as well as Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, in addition to five years probation and a five-year worldwide ban on hunting. The latest investigation revealed Rae had yet to pay any of the court-ordered restitution on the previous case.
In March 2022, Rae was indicted by a federal grand jury for a felony violation of the Lacy Act. He was additionally charged with two misdemeanor federal violations for entering a closed area and the collection of shed antlers out of season. In July, Rae entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court for a violation of the Lacey Act. During the October sentencing, he entered a second guilty plea for probation violations.
Rae was sentenced to 90 days of home confinement, five years of supervised felony probation, a five-year ban from entering federal public lands and a five-year ban on hunting in accordance with the interstate wildlife violator compact.”
The BTNF would like to remind shed antler collectors to observe all state and federal regulations pertaining to season dates and closures for the protection of wintering wildlife.
