Man Fined For Stephentown Wildlife Violations

The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation announced that James H. Connors, III, 55, of Pittsfield, MA, pleaded guilty to four violations of Environmental Conservation Law in Stephentown Town Court on October 3 – hunting deer over bait, hunting turkey over bait, taking protected birds and the illegal hunting of fisher. Connors was fined $250 for each violation for a total $1,000 fine.
In February of 2009, DEC received a complaint about a dead cat which was found in  Stephentown. Environmental Conservation Officer Brian Canzeri investigated and found evidence of wildlife baiting and the illegal taking of turkey, deer and song birds, in addition to the dead cat found on the Connors’ property.
After many months of monitoring the property, Canzeri’s patience paid off when Connors returned to his property on Beech Way. When confronted with the evidence, Connors confessed to placing bait on his property to lure wildlife and to shooting two turkeys and two deer over the bait. In addition, Connors confessed to shooting song birds and the cat, which he mistakenly thought was a fisher.