An Illinois geneticist must pay $30,000 and serve three years of probation for illegally obtaining valuable semen from whitetail deer in East Texas.
A federal judge in Tyler sentenced 55-year-old Raymond Favero of Braidwood, Ill.
Favero in July pleaded guilty to wrongful acquisition of wildlife in interstate commerce. Texas law bars importing live whitetail deer or mule deer amid concerns about transmittable diseases.
Prosecutors on Wednesday said Favero must also pay a $6,000 fine and $24,000 to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Federation.
Investigators say Favero in 2007 acquired whitetail deer semen from a buck in Cherokee County that he knew was illegally transported from an out-of-state source. The semen was worth $92,000. Investigators say Favero in 2008 acquired more whitetail deer semen from another buck in a similar case.
