As the old commercial once warned: It's not nice to fool Mother Nature.
Two Georgia hunters are paying the price for illegally luring migratory birds with bait and then allowing them to be killed for sport.
Nelson Presley Biggers, 49, of Cleveland, Ga., and Jere Lee Kimbrel, 51, of Saute Naoche, Ga., were both sentenced to two years' probation, 50 hours of community service and loss of migratory bird hunting privileges for one year. Biggers was also fined $2,000, and Kimbrel was fined $1,500.
The duo ran afoul of the state's Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents say they witnessed Biggers and Kimbrell bait a field with seeds in Cleveland in September 2009. The agents watched as several hunters were allowed to kill the birds over the legal limit as Biggers collected the carcasses. Agents seized 191 mourning doves that were illegally shot.
Biggers and Kimbrell could have received a prison term of up to one year and up to $100,000 in fines for baiting the field. Over-hunting could have resulted in a prison stay of up to six months and a fine of up to $15,000.
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