United States-Illegal meat at wholesalers depot.

UNITED STATES.

MEAT WHOLESALER IN TROUBLE OVER GAME.

Dennis Greve, 65, owner and operator of Bayard Meat Processing, agreed to enter a plea of guilty to charges of illegal possession of deer and elk, according to a press release from Jim Zimmerman, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission law enforcement supervisor for the Commission’s Panhandle district.

Zimerman said Nebraska Game and Parks Commission began an investigation after receiving a tip about potentially illegal sales of venison in December 2007. Officials with the commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inspected Bayard Processing facilities in March 2008, 1,500 kilos of undocumented meat. The meat, primarily deer and some elk meat, was confiscated and samples were sent to the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Forensic Lab for analysis to confirm the species of wild game.

The Morrill County attorney charged Greve with four wildlife violations: illegal possession of deer, illegal possession of elk, unlawful possession of improperly tagged game and bartering wildlife.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors recently finalized a plea agreement, with Greve entering a plea of guilty on two counts of illegal possession of game. He was assessed US$7,600 in fines and liquidated damages and $44 court costs.