I know Spook. He is a great guy. When he shot this deer, it was the largest ever shot on film. This buck garnered a lot of attention.
JohnC, Kansas went after him also. The $20,000 fine was 10k for Kansas and 10K for the government. He also lost his hunting rights in Kansas for a year, the rest of the US for 6 months.
Bigwakes, the Lacey Act only applies because he brought the deer back to Tennessee, so it crossed state lines. Once he crossed state lines, it became a federal violation as well.
All of us hunter need to be aware of the Lacy Act. If any of us kill a deer in Alabama, tag it incorrectly and bring it back to Tn, we have committed a federal crime.
Know the hunting regs of where ever you hunt.
Do I think Spook made an honest mistake, yes. Should he have known better, hell yes. He is a professional hunter, its his job to know the law.
I bet he never makes that mistake again though.