On Jan. 11, an Indiana circuit court docket put a taxidermist behind bars after suspending his license and charging him with three counts of felony theft and one rely of felony corrupt enterprise affect.
Customers of Buck Fever Taxidermy in Eaton, Indiana have accused proprietor Shawn Huntington of taking their cash and their antlers and hides and by no means returning a completed product, regardless of their a number of makes an attempt to contact him. The court docket ordered Huntington to return all property to the victims, a few of which is broken past restore, based on an affidavit.
A History of Issues
Court information element a sequence of visits Indiana Conservation Officers paid to Huntington’s residence and taxidermy store since July 2021. Customers began submitting complaints with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Division round that point. Between July 2021 and August 2022, IDNR visited Huntington a minimum of 5 instances. In January 2022 throughout a type of visits, Huntington failed a taxidermy inspection and acquired a warning. He was barely logging or recording any of his work, which licensed taxidermists are required to do.
Huntington typically blamed his habits on a damaged cellphone and struggles with life and cash, saying he hadn’t acquired any indignant calls from clients. Conservation officers loaned Huntington their cell telephones to name complainants throughout their visits.
On Aug. 1, 2022, a buyer referred to as IDNR with a grievance about an antlered whitetail that he had delivered to Huntington. He tried to contact Huntington a number of instances however by no means heard again. He even stopped by the home to go away a notice on the door. Eight days later, IDNR officers visited Huntington’s home once more to confront him concerning the grievance. During this go to, Huntington admitted that he was two full seasons behind and had simply begun the animals he acquired in October 2020. Officers noticed a do-it-yourself storage rack packed full with skullcaps and antlers. They additionally found he hadn’t up to date his record-keeping that he was beforehand issued a warning for.
When officers requested to see the place Huntington saved capes, he led them to 3 freezers. They opened one to find an enormous brick of ice had fashioned round a number of luggage of hides, rendering them ruined, based on one of many IDNR officers. They additionally famous a rotting odor coming from the freezer. IDNR issued Huntington a quotation for taxidermist violations just a few weeks later.
Frustrated Customers
According to buyer and Madison County resident Cody Fisher, Huntington used to do nice work. He introduced his 2018 and 2019 whitetail bucks to Buck Fever and acquired high quality mounts again inside a yr of dropping them off. But issues turned bitter in 2020.
“He was a good taxidermist. He wasn’t super expensive,” Fisher tells Outdoor Life. Huntington charged $425 to $450 per mount. “A little over two years ago, I brought him 2020’s deer. Everything was normal, I paid, and then 2021 came around and I brought him 2021’s deer and he still hadn’t had 2020’s done yet. I was concerned.”
Huntington finally stopped answering Fisher’s calls. Fisher says it seemed like his cellphone was shut off, so he began going by Huntington’s home.
“Either no one was there or he wasn’t answering the door,” Fisher recollects. “I started getting worried, started asking around. My dad finally went over to his house and caught him coming outside. My dad said he was going to file a report with the DNR if he didn’t get back with us, and he said ‘oh no, don’t do that.’ Then my wife saw online that he had been taken to court for the amount of a deer mount, so we knew that other people hadn’t gotten theirs either.”
Fisher finally posted on Facebook asking if different individuals had been having points. He estimates he spoke to greater than 10 different pissed off clients. IDNR lately contacted Fisher to tell him that they’d raided Huntington’s residence and seized all of the animal merchandise. Fisher’s two 10-point whitetail skullcaps from 2020 and 2021, in addition to a piebald deer disguise belonging to his uncle, had been all discovered.
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Shady Behavior
Fisher remembers having lengthy, pleasant conversations with Huntington every time he visited, however that they finally turned unusual after Huntington shared a disconcerting story a few good friend’s unethical looking habits, which made Fisher uncomfortable. He additionally recollects that Huntington had a number of “expensive vehicles,” four-wheelers, and different pricey possessions across the property, however was unable to return cash to indignant clients. Fisher additionally says that at one level, Huntington leased and ran path cameras on a big chunk of land south of Delaware County.
A distinct Facebook person, who claims to personal land adjoining to land Huntington leases, accused Huntington of capturing a deer throughout the property line whereas his household was looking it.
“I don’t really care about the deer but with them hunting there when it happened and my son and brother hunting there earlier that day it could have been real bad,” he wrote in a touch upon the submit.
The three theft prices Huntington faces, all stage 6 felonies, every carry a most penalty of a $10,000 superb and two and a half years in jail. Corrupt enterprise affect, which is a stage 5 felony, carries a most of six years in jail. Huntington’s preliminary listening to is ready for Feb. 6, 2023.