BARAGA COUNTY, MI-- The Michigan Department of Natural Resources caught a couple of brothers poaching trumpeter swans in Baraga County last month.
Someone called the Report All Poaching hotline on September 28 to report the incident. Trumpeter swans are a state and federally protected species.
Two conservation officers responded to the Sturgeon River Sloughs Wildlife Area south of Chassell. They were able to identify the two Houghton brothers in their 20s from the witness report.
The COs conducted a routine waterfowl check and found one of the hunters was using lead shot, which is toxic when ingested and illegal to use when hunting waterfowl. The brothers then admitted they killed the swans and stashed the birds where they dropped.
The poachers were ticketed for killing two trumpeter swans and possession of lead shot while waterfowl hunting.
Taking illegal waterfowl is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.
