A Kane County commissioner and former member of the Utah Wildlife Board — a commission that reviews some hunting, fishing and other wildlife-related regulations in the state — is now facing nearly a dozen charges after prosecutors allege his company illegally baited big game for hunting purposes.
Wade Raymond Heaton, 51, of Alton, Kane County, was charged in the 6th District Court Friday with pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony; six counts of wanton destruction of protected wildlife, ranging in severity from a third-degree felony to class A misdemeanor; three counts of conspiracy, a misdemeanor; and taking, transporting, selling or purchasing protected wildlife, a class B misdemeanor.
Six other Utah men, all guides for the hunting business that Heaton owns, were charged with some of the same poaching-related charges stemming from an investigation that began last year.
“Baiting — when food or nutrient substances are placed to manipulate the behavior of wildlife for the purpose of taking or attempting to take big game — is illegal. The investigation found evidence that several deer appear to have been taken using bait by hunters during the 2022 and 2023 hunting seasons,” a Utah Department of Natural Resources spokesperson said in a statement to KSL.com.
Read the full story here: KSL News.
Written by CARTER WILLIAMS, KSL.com.
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