Deer Smugglers Reprimanded
Helicopter pilot Thomas Leroy Hauptman pleaded guilty to illegally transporting axis deer from Maui to the Big Island, on Monday. He could be sentenced to over $10,000 in fines and up to a year in prison.
The alleged animal smugglers flew four axis deer from Maui to the Big Island to be used by hunters as living targets, and brought back about a dozen mouflon sheep from the Big Island to a Maui hunting ranch back in 2009.
The owner of the ranch, Jeffrey Scott Grundhauser, is also facing possible jail time for selling wildlife without the proper permit.
Because axis deer and mouflon sheep are not native species to Hawaii, their presence has damaged fragile native ecosystems and farms on the islands where they’ve become established.…