Thompson/Center Arms wishes to clarify the Company’s relationship with Game Trails, LLC. At no time in the history of Thompson/Center Arms, including the present, has the Company had any form of ownership of or control over the Kentucky hunting property that was operated by Game Trails, LLC. The Company’s relationship with Game Trails, LLC has been limited to that of a customer, paying for use of the property when hosting various events.
In a completely separate matter, Thompson/Center Arms has been a paying sponsor of the Game Trails television show. It is the Company’s understanding that the Kentucky property operated by Game Trails, LLC, which has sometimes been referred to as “Game Trails,” is distinct and unrelated to the Game Trails television show.
We at Thompson/Center Arms remain steadfast in our commitment to the hunting heritage, a heritage which embraces the highest level of ethics among participants in the sport. In that commitment, we bear no tolerance for the violation of state or federal game laws. We continue to support national programs that nurture the sport of hunting while educating youth about the responsibilities and privileges of enjoying the outdoors

Gleaner staff

OWENSBORO — A Union County hunting preserve, Game Trails Lodge, and its manager were sentenced and fined Thursday in U.S. District Court in Owensboro for misdemeanor violations of the Lacey Act.

The punishment was handed down for the crime of taking wildlife in a manner unlawful under Kentucky law, and for making false statements to Kentucky Fish & Wildlife about the takings and transporting of wildlife in interstate commerce, Acting U.S. Attorney Candace G. Hill of the Western District of Kentucky said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Robert Goebel ordered that Game Trails, a limited liability corporation, pay a $35,000 fine and 43-year-old William Dirk McTavish Jr. of Paducah, the site manager of Game Trails Lodge, pay a $15,000 fine. No jail time was imposed upon McTavish.

The defendants pleaded guilty to the charge and were sentenced on the same date. The charges arose out of Game Trails’ practice of the killing of does over limit at its lodge at 7616 State Route 365, near Strugis, between June 1, 2006 and November 30, 2007, and shipping parts of the wildlife between Sturgis and Atlanta.

Game Trails and its agents used the Social Security numbers of hunters at the lodge without their permission to report the deer as having been legally taken to Kentucky Fish & Wildlife’s telecheck program. McTavish was the Lodge Manager at Game Trails Lodge at the time, was aware of and participated in the violations.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ream, and it was investigated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

via Union Co. hunting operation, its manager fined : News : Evansville Courier Press.