A circuit court judge fined a Dubois man after his snares killed at least 16 deer from 2003 to 2006.

Judge Robert Denhardt recently fined Robert Charles Johnsen $1,600 for eight counts of taking a deer without a license with his snares. In addition, Denhardt revoked Johnsen’s privilege to obtain a trapping license for five years and his privilege to use snares for 24 years, and ordered him to forfeit his trapping equipment — 271 leg-hold traps and 127 snares — to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Johnsen, 57, was attempting to snare coyotes and bobcats.

The case started in winter 2003, when Johnsen contacted Dubois Game Warden Cole Thompson to say that he’d accidentally killed a deer in his snare. During the next two years, Johnsen reported five more deer killed in his snares. Thompson did not cite Johnsen but urged him to adjust his snaring practices, such as moving his snares from deer trails and areas of high deer activity.

“Since Mr. Johnsen also owned leg-hold traps, I urged him to switch to leg-hold traps because they were less likely to catch deer, but he never did,” Thompson said.             

Johnsen killed more deer on Dec. 30, 2005, and Jan. 12, 2006. He was issued warning tickets for both violations, and Thompson told him all subsequent deer killed in his snares would result in citations. Johnsen did not report another snared deer until the following November.           

From Nov. 23, 2006, to Jan. 6, 2007, seven more deer were killed in Johnsen’s snares, and he was issued a citation for taking a deer without a license for each incident. Two deer were caught and killed in the exact locations where Johnsen snared and killed previous deer.                

“I do commend Mr. Johnsen for contacting me and reporting these deer he caught in his snares,” Thompson said.

On the majority of the reports, Thompson would accompany Johnsen to the scene. Twice on patrol Thompson discovered a deer in Johnsen’s snares before Johnsen did. Johnsen later reported both to the officer.

All 16 deer — two does and 14 fawns — were snared on public land in the Dubois area, including Game and Fish’s East Fork, Whiskey Basin and Jakey’s Fork wildlife habitat management areas. One buck and two does were caught in Johnsen’s snares and released alive.                 

Johnsen appeared in court Jan. 12, 2007, for the violations and Denhardt ordered him to cease snaring until the charges were settled. While removing his snares the next day, he discovered a whitetail fawn killed by a snare and was issued another citation for taking a deer without a license.                

Chief Game Warden Jay Lawson says violations resulting from inadvertent snaring are not uncommon in Wyoming. In 1999, a Cody man killed at least 15 deer in snares set along fences about 15 miles northeast of Meeteetse. He was convicted of two counts of destruction of state property (deer) and ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution and $200 to the Wyoming Crime Victim’s Fund. A $400 fine for each count was suspended providing the defendant completed 25 hours of community service for each count.

Anyone with information about protected animals being killed in snares can call the Stop Poaching Hotline at 877-WGFD-TIP. Callers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward if the information leads to a conviction.