Central Calif. poaching bust uncovers bear meat and nearly 1,000 illegal bass

Packages of bear meat, six sets of deer antlers and 931 black bass were among the wildlife seized from a Bakersfield home last month during a sprawling poaching investigation.

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California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers arrested a suspect, who was not named, on Sept. 24 after serving simultaneous search warrants at a residence in Bakersfield and a property in Stallion Springs, the agency said in a news release.

At the Bakersfield home, officers found hundreds of black bass along with numerous packages of suspected deer meat, antlers and packaged bear meat. 

Investigators believe the suspect illegally killed multiple deer without a hunting license or deer tags, including animals taken out of season and spike bucks, or young male deer that could not legally be harvested.

Samples of the meat and antlers were sent to CDFW’s Wildlife Forensic Laboratory for DNA testing. Officials said the analysis could establish the sex and genetic profile of the animals and help investigators determine how many deer and bears were illegally poached.

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The suspect was booked into Kern County Jail on several alleged Fish and Game Code violations, including unlawfully taking and possessing deer, hunting without a license, taking more than three times the daily bag limit and taking wildlife for profit.

SFGATE sent a request to CDFW for more information but it was not immediately returned by the time of publication.