Woman arrested with protected wildlife

ANDERSON COUNTY – The Texas Game Wardens have charged a woman after several dead animals were found in her home, including federally protected birds.

Earlier in July, an Anderson County game warden received a tip from Operation Game Thief about someone who was in possession of protected wildlife illegally. After receiving the tip, the Anderson County game warden and a Navarro County game warden interviewed the woman who allegedly had the illegal animals.

The woman allowed them to search her home and while inside her residence, game wardens reported that the following animals were then found inside her freezers:
A crested caracara
A red-tailed hawk
Two red-shouldered hawks
Two great horned owls
A northern cardinal
Two otters
A bobcat
A white-tailed fawn
A groundhog and other protected wildlife.

The woman was then charged with unlawful possession of bird parts, possession of an alligator with no hunting license, hunter safety regulation violation and possession of white-tailed deer parts without a wildlife resource document.

A civil restitution will be filed against the woman to refund the Texas Department of Wildlife for any damage to wildlife resources, and the Texas Game Wardens have given the federally protected birds’ bodies over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for them to investigate any potential federal crimes.