Deer DNA Is Used to Catch Poacher
Wildlife officials have used deer DNA to catch a poacher. Lynn Bernard York, 38, pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally possessing meat from two whitetail does. The meat was found in his pickup truck Dec. 21 at a wildlife area where the taking of female deer is illegal.
York had claimed that the meat came from a buck. But researchers at the University of Florida analyzed DNA from the meat to determine the species, sex and geographic location of the deer.
It was the first time genetic analysis was used to convict a poacher in Florida, a state Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission official said.
York was fined $1,661 and his hunting license was suspended for three years.
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