South Dakota officials investigating if rocker Ted Nugent illegally hunted pheasant

Rock star and hunting advocate Ted Nugent is being investigated by South Dakota wildlife officials to determine whether any game laws were broken by his hunting pheasants after some of his hunting privileges were revoked in California.

The Rapid City Journal reports that Nugent, who lost his California deer hunting license through June 2012 following a 2009 deer baiting incident, may be prohibited from any hunting in South Dakota because of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, an agreement that recognizes suspension of hunting, fishing, and trapping licenses in member states, which include South Dakota and California.

Nugent went pheasant hunting at Dakota Hills Shooting Preserve in Oral, S.D., on Oct. 16 while filming for his television show, "Spirit of the Wild," on the Outdoor Channel.

Andy Alban, South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department law enforcement administrator, would not discuss Nugent or the investigation.

"It’s against our policy to comment on active investigations," Alban said.

Patrick Foy, California Department of Fish and Game spokesman, told The Journal that California revoked Nugent's deer hunting license on Aug. 13 after he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of deer-baiting and not having a properly signed tag.

As South Dakota officers try to determine whether Nugent violated state regulations, the species-specific nature of the California suspension is likely to be a factor because Nugent is only barred from hunting deer.

"Ted Nugent is prohibited from hunting deer in California until after June 30 of 2012," Foy said. "He can hunt pheasants. He can hunt pigs. He can hunt whatever else he wants to hunt. He is prohibited from hunting deer."

While he couldn't speak for South Dakota and what it might do on the issue, Foy added that Nugent has "gotten along well with the wardens" in California.

"We certainly have no ill will toward him. He was cooperative with our investigators. And he appears to have accepted responsibility for his actions."

-- Kelly Burgess
twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Ted Nugent holds up a rooster pheasant he shot at the Dakota Hills Shooting Preserve. Credit: Aaron Rosenblatt / Rapid City Journal / Associated Press

Comments

[Eric Mills]

South Dakota obviously needs to change its laws. It should be commonsense that game law violators such as Nugent should be barred from ALL hunting.

Thank you, Ed Stull, for the imperssive collection of quotables from Ted over the years. The man is a degenerate cretin, and a disgrace to ethical hunters everywhere.

And Jimmy Vickers, Sr., get thee to a therapist!

[Ed Stull]

HUNTING AND HUNTING ETHIC

..."unethical," says Mr. Caires, who was angered after he took Nugent out on a hunt in April. "He shoots at anything," Mr. Cairnes claims. "You should kill what you can use. He just likes to kill a lot of animals." (Cairnes is a hunting guide who takes people out to stab wild pigs in Hawaii) - The Wall Street Journal, July 25, 1995, 'Why Sit on the Beach When You Could Stab a Wild Pig?

"... First thing I slayed...I was nine years old. It was a squirrel, these ladies were feeding it, you know, and I said, 'excuse me, bam.' No it wasn't a pet squirrel. I had it stuffed and petted it for years after that." - WRIF-FM, Detroit, Ted Nugent as guest D.J., September 26, 1991

Whacking is a term Nugent uses to describe what he does to his prey with bow and arrow. Whack 'em and stack 'em,' he says. - Detroit Free Press Magazine , July 15, 1990

Participants pay the Renegade Ranch (a fenced in, 300-acre canned hunting recreation area) for the animals they kill - anywhere from $500 for a wild boar to $5,500 for a six-point elk. Nugent tacks on a $250 fee for serving as celebrity guide. - Detroit Free Press Magazine , July 15, 1990

"I don't hunt for sport, I don't hunt for recreation, I don't hunt for meat, I hunt to hunt ..." - Detroit Free Press , p. 12D, April 17, 1989

Ted Nugent's Down to Earth, promises raw, unedited footage of America's no. 1 rock 'n' roll bowhunter as he whacks 'em and stacks 'em. Nor was it hyperbole. In the first 10 minutes, viewers got bird's-eye of broadheads fatally piercing such fearsome creatures as an armadillo, a squirrel perched in a tree, some pigs and a goat. 'I love that part,' said the glinty-eyed Nugent after running death scenes in sequence. 'Let's see it again.' And the appalling whack 'em and stack 'em compendium ran all over in slow-motion replay. - The Washington Post , Recreation Section, September 23, 1990

Nobody hunts just to put meat on the table because it's too expensive, time consuming and extremely inconsistent. - Ted Nugent's World Bowhunters Magazine, Volume 1/ Number 3, March/April 1990, p.7

"On my first bowhunt on the property a few years back, I was on my own for twenty-two days and killed an amazing thirty-three head of big game. I'm surprised I even came home. I was in heaven." - Ted Nugent's World Bowhunters Magazine, Volume 1/ Number 3, March/April 1990, p.15

"... My deer were put here on the earth. God even said, 'Hey Ted, whack 'em.' He said this, right in the bible, Genesis, 'Dear Ted, whack me a buck ...'" - WRIF-FM, Detroit, Ted Nugent as guest D.J., Sept. 24, 1991

"I contribute to the dead of winter and the moans of silence, blood trails are music to my ears ... I'm a gut pile addict ... The pig didn't know I was there ... it's my kick ... I love shafting animals ... it's rock 'n' roll power." - Ted Nugent's World Bowhunters Magazine, Volume 1/Number 4, May 1990, p.12

[Kellen]

Ted is a turd and a hypocrite. Nice job on the license, HYPOCRITE!!

[jimmy vickers, Sr.]

Ed Stull: IDIOT

[jimmy vickers, Sr.]

Leave Ted alone, he has done more good for sportsmen,hunters, gun owners, and all free Americans than possibly any single person alive or dead. He also is human and subject to screw up every now and then, as we all do. If he wasn,t such an outspoken, prominant individual, you would not have heard anything about this fiasco. Go Ted- We are behind you 100%

[Ed Stull]

Ted Nugent: Narcissistic Scumbag

[ed]

hey ted dont show your reruns they will get you for that

[ed]

guess they found another way to try stopping us from hunting scare tactics go after the big dog little ones will follow leave him and us alone it is our right

[Hunter]

If its so complicated that the officials themselves are still investigating to see if it is, or is not, actually a violation, THEN ITS TOO COMPLICATED!
Just exactly how is an everyday person supposed to figure it out?
I am all for compliance with the law, and of course Ted Nugent will now bring his Lawyer with him on every hunt to read the fine print.
Nugent can afford it, what about the rest of us?

[Popeye The Sailor Man]

Thats Right Billie...but only in South Park, Colorado. Not in South Dakota.

[billie]

It's not illegal if you yell out, "Look out! He is coming right for us!" before you shoot.

[Popeye The Sailor Man]

Poor Ted Nugent...just because he is a former Rock Star and an advocate of sustainable hunting he is in the cross hairs of the media. Can we find out when will it be hunting season on Ingrid Newkirk?