Outdoors host arrested for illegal turkey hunting | ChipleyPaper.com

SARAH OWEN, Florida Freedom Newswire

CAMPBELLTON — The host and the cameraman of a syndicated hunting show each were charged with breaking four state hunting laws the opening weekend of turkey season.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers say Gary Finch of “Gary Finch Outdoors” knowingly exceeded bag limits, lied on a permit application and baited birds illegally with food. Cameraman Steven Layton also was charged with shooting a turkey too close to a feeding stand.

State law prohibits hunters from taking a turkey from within 100 yards of an active feeding station, FWC Lt. Stan Kirkland said, and he said anyone who hunts ought to know that.

“It’s considered unethical,” Kirkland said. “Hunters by and large know baiting laws. If they turkey hunt, they do.”

Finch told officers he killed three turkeys on a two-day hunt March 20 and 21, which violates both the one-per-day bag limit and the two-per-season limit. He gave one of the carcasses to the man who owns the land, near Cecil Road in northern Jackson County, on which he and Layton were hunting and filming.

“I felt … that Finch gave one turkey to the landowner so he could continue to hunt and film without being caught attempting to take over the bag limit,” the FWC officer reported.

The TV host initially lied to officers about how many birds he had killed “because he was scared” but later admitted to exceeding the bag limit, police reported. He also pointed out to officers, who had interrupted his and Layton’s second-day hunt, the spots where he killed the birds.

Gary Finch Outdoors issued a statement saying “neither Finch nor Layton were aware of the presence of baiting stations in the proximity of where the turkey hunting was taking place.”

“The property was not managed by Finch or Layton and the locations of the wheat on the property were not disclosed to the two hunters,” according to the statement.

Finch told officers he shot one of the birds within 12 yards of wheat seed that was “spread heavily on the ground,” according to the FWC report.

Officers reported finding turkey feathers and blood in the feed.

The host killed another turkey 22 yards from bait; he took the third bird a legal distance from a feeding station, according to the report.

Layton, who told police he “knew it was wrong” for Finch to hunt more than one bird in a day, was charged with killing a turkey 67 yards from bait.

Finch’s statement argued the number of turkeys harvested did not exceed the limit allowed for two hunters in a single season, but did not address the daily bag limit charge.

The events of the hunt are “regrettable,” the statement read, but “should not overshadow the weekly efforts that the show and its host have made towards promoting conservation, education and safety in the outdoors.”

Finch was charged with two counts of taking wild turkey within 100 yards of a feeding station, two counts of exceeding the bag limit (for the day and for the season) and one count of giving a false statement in the application for his hunting license.

Finch, an Alabama resident, used the property owner’s address instead of his own because, he told police, “he had a lot of problems and could not get a Florida driver license.”

The charges, all misdemeanors, each are punishable by a maximum fine of $500 and 60 days in jail. However, Kirkland said, it’s “extremely rare” for an offender to get jail time, unless there are repeat violations or other extreme circumstances.

Finch and Layton are scheduled to appear before a Jackson County judge May 3.

“Gary Finch Outdoors” airs locally on WTVY at 6:30 a.m. Sundays.

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