How to Lose 33 Grand, Your Guns, and Your Dignity

Building a social media persona as a master woodsman is tough to pull off when your entire highlight reel is fueled by illegal activity across seventeen states. According to a recent Fish and Wildlife article, Carter J. Hickey, a twenty-one-year-old from Ohio, treated game regulations like suggestions—spotlighting game from vehicles, ignoring bag limits, poaching out of season, and bragging about it all on TikTok. After a wave of public tips sparked a coordinated multi-state investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and state wildlife agencies, Hickey’s outlaw run ended in court with guilty pleas to seventeen wildlife crimes and thousands in fines for his accomplices.

The cost of playing an outlaw influencer came out steep, hitting both his wallet and his pride:

• Over $33,500 in restitution, fines, penalties, and contributions to the Ohio Turn In a Poacher program.
• 15 days in jail, two years of probation, and 80 hours of community service.
• A five-year ban on hunting and trapping privileges.
• Seizure of his gear, including three firearms, a bow, hunting blinds, decoys, 115 pounds of poached turkey meat, and 47 turkey fans.

To cap it off, the court ordered Hickey to post a public apology video on the very TikTok channel he used to boast about his illegal kills, alongside a written apology for trespassing and unlawfully taking a 10-point buck in a public park. Poaching robs ethical hunters and damages conservation efforts, which is why wildlife agencies rely on the public to call out illegal acts. Suspected wildlife crimes can be reported anonymously to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 1-844-FWS-TIPS.

^{Photo courtesy of Ohio Department of Natural Resources}