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Idaho man loses hunting license for life after sprawling poaching investigation
Published at 12:30 pm, June 24, 2025
Lorien Nettleton, KIVI TV
TWIN FALLS (KIVI TV) — A Rupert man will lose his Idaho hunting license for life as part of a plea deal in a poaching case that involved using a helicopter to chase wildlife.
Karl Studer pleaded guilty to one charge of illegally taking a bull moose after an investigation revealed a pattern of illegal hunting behaviors.
“Karl Studer should never be allowed to hunt in the state of Idaho again,” prosecutor Jethelyn Harrington said.
The investigation began with several reports of a red helicopter flying low and chasing game away from hunters. One hunter told investigators that “the helicopter followed the deer for a mile and a half or so and was about 200 yards off the ground… It was obvious the deer were running because of the helicopter.”
Studer, who was a passenger in that helicopter and a driving force in the illegal wildlife harvests of three other men, initially faced seven felony charges related to poaching.
“As far as the facts of this case go, it does not get more serious, for poaching big game animals in the state of Idaho,” Harrington said.
The prosecutor argued that the behaviors identified in the investigation should factor into sentencing.
“Karl Studer is an arrogant man who has stolen from Idaho’s precious resources in a very inhumane and undignified way. His blatant disregard and lack of respect for other hunters in Idaho is full-scale cheating, breaking rules that everyone else has to follow,” Harrington said.
Defense attorney Charles Peterson Jr. told the judge a five-year ban was appropriate and pointed to character statements submitted by friends and associates of Studer.
“Neither have I seen in this case anything in any of the people who know him that would suggest, as the state suggests, that he is greedy and thinks he is above the law,” Peterson said.
Judge William Hancock agreed with the prosecutor during a sentencing hearing for the high-profile poaching case, handing down a lifetime suspension of his Idaho hunting license.
“The court is mindful that the sentence set here today will be a sentence that not only has an impact for (Studer), but also has a message for others,” Hancock said.
Studer’s sentence includes five years of unsupervised probation, 50 hours of community service, and fines and court fees totaling around $180,000.
Prior to sentencing, Studer apologized to the court, the state, and to Fish and Game.
“I’m ashamed of how we ended up here, never my intention. However, I fully accept all responsibility for my actions and accountability around that,” Studer said.
How The Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act Aims To Protect Wildlife & Pets In The U.S.
A Disturbing Drop in Support for Hunting
How The Refuge From Cruel Trapping Act Aims To Protect Wildlife & Pets In The U.S.
The Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act was reintroduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). This bill would prohibit the use of archaic body-gripping traps within the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS), with limited exceptions. Body-gripping traps include steel-jaw leghold traps, Conibear traps, and snares.
“Why should anyone—people, companion animals, or wildlife—have to fear stepping into a bone-crushing trap while enjoying our nation’s beautiful wildlife refuge system?” said Susan Millward, Animal Welfare Institute’s executive director and CEO. “Public lands belong to all of us—not just the select few who wish to set traps that smash limbs or agonizingly strangle airways. Thank you to Representative Nadler for your commitment to ending the use of cruel traps in our country’s refuges.”
“When Americans visit their local National Wildlife Refuges, most expect to enjoy nature without worrying that they—or their pets—will fall victim to a dangerous trap,” Nadler said. “However, trapping is still allowed in many of the more than 570 refuges across the country, putting people, pets, and endangered species in danger of serious injury. These cruel devices have no place on protected public lands, and my bill will make sure our refuges are safe from this inhumane practice.”
The purpose of these protected lands is clear: to be a refuge where native wildlife can thrive and all Americans can enjoy our great outdoors. The NWRS contains one of the most diverse collections of fish and wildlife habitats in the world and provides a home for more than 380 endangered species. Yet, nearly half of these refuges allow trapping. Body-gripping traps are inhumane and inherently nonselective, meaning they indiscriminately injure and kill nontarget animals.
These dangerous traps pose a threat not only to wild animals but also to the pets of countless visitors who frequent the nation’s refuges each year. Numerous incidents have occurred where pets have been fatally harmed. For example, in December 2022, a three-year-old Shetland sheepdog tragically lost her life after a Conibear trap closed around her neck near a wooded trail in Vermont. This marked the state’s 13th pet-related trapping incident of the year.
