Outfitters have to follow the law just like everyone else
Outfitters and Guides are subject to the same laws as we are and unfortunately here is an example of what happens when they do not.
Outfitter charged in Cougar case Loses License
By: Blake Nicholson - Associated Press writer
BISMARCK, N.D.
A western North Dakota outfitter accused of trying to cover up the illegal killing of a mountain lion by an Indiana hunter has lost his guiding and outfitting privileges for at least 1 1/2 years, his lawyer says.
Diane Melbye, the attorney for Billy Freitag, said his 18-month suspension is retroactive to Nov. 7. The agreement with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department on the length of the suspension was reached this week, a day before Freitag was to appear before an administrative law judge in Bismarck, she said.
The Game and Fish Department suspended Freitag’s license after the co-owner of the Dickinson-based Little Missouri River Outfitters was accused in the mid-September cougar killing. Freitag faces misdemeanor criminal charges involving an alleged cover-up attempt.
“If there are criminal convictions, he would lose his license for three years” by state law, Melbye said. She would not comment on how Freitag might plead.
Game and Fish Department officials could not immediately be reached for comment on the suspension Wednesday. Bob Timian, the chief game warden, was out of the office, which was closed on Thursday because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Jack Fields II, of West Terre Haute, Ind., allegedly killed the cougar while hunting mule deer with a bow in northern Dunn County. North Dakota’s mountain lion hunting season is open only to state residents.
Authorities say Freitag told Fields it was legal for Fields to kill the cougar and then lied to investigators when he realized his mistake. Fields eventually confessed, according to Dunn County State’s Attorney Ross Sundeen.
Fields faces up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted on a misdemeanor charge of taking a protected furbearing animal during a closed season.
Freitag is charged with aiding in the concealment of game illegally killed or possessed, giving false information to law enforcement officials and hindering law enforcement. He faces up to two years and 30 days in jail and $5,000 in fines if convicted on all the misdemeanor charges.
No court hearings have been scheduled in the case, according to the clerk’s office.