MODOC COUNTY — In what he called “an honest mistake,” a Clayton man who used a compound bow and arrow to kill a pronghorn antelope last August has been convicted of poaching, state Department of Fish and Wildlife officials said.
In a plea agreement Jan. 30, Ernest Davis, 53, pleaded no contest and was convicted of violating California Fish and Game Code section 2016 involving the illegal take of the pronghorn on private property with other violations being dismissed, officials said in a news release.
The conviction resulted in a one-year summary probation term for Davis, the loss of hunting privileges while on probation, the forfeiture of the pronghorn’s meat, a $3,000 restitution payment and other penalties, officials said. He is also required to complete a hunter education course.
“The whole thing is really just an honest mistake,” Davis said by phone Tuesday. “It’s been a nightmare.”
CDFW’s investigation began in August 2024 when its Law Enforcement Division, Northern Enforcement District received a tip via CALTIP of an individual observed illegally shooting and taking a pronghorn with a bow on private property near Alturas in Modoc County.
Officials said Davis did not have permission to be on the property and did not have an officially issued tag to hunt antelope.
Davis said he did receive an alternate tag from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife after not receiving the regular tag the department said he had drawn. Hunters of big game must apply for the tags, and then the tags are picked in a drawing.
Only 137 pronghorn hunting tags were offered by CDFW in 2024. It can take many years, sometimes decades of applying each year through CDFW’s Big Game Drawing before a hunter is awarded a tag to legally hunt pronghorn.
“I’d been trying to draw the tag for 17 years,” Davis said. “When I first put in for it, (the Fish and Wildlife Department) called me and said we have an alternate one.”
Armed with that, Davis said he went to Modoc County to hunt with a bow-and-arrow, as the tag supposedly allowed him to do. He said he eventually spotted an antelope and shot it with the bow-and-arrow. He said he later was notified he had been on private property.
“It ended up being property on Alturas Ranches,” he said, referring to the 31,000-acre property that features wildlife, grazing ground, hay and rice fields.
CDFW wildlife officers responded to the location and determined that a “male pronghorn had been illegally taken and initiated a poaching investigation,” the release said. The investigation involved field interviews with witnesses, canvassing of the kill site, online records and other investigatory databases.
The investigation led to Davis, initially as a person of interest. Wildlife officers contacted Davis at his residence and determined it was Davis who illegally poached the pronghorn, officials said.
Officials said the head and horns of the mature male antelope were found at the residence and its meat was found in a freezer there.
The case was submitted to the Modoc County District Attorney’s Office, which initiated the prosecution of Davis for poaching crimes, the release said.
“The Modoc County District Attorney’s Office takes all criminal matters very seriously. We understand the importance of individuals following CDFW regulations. Our office will continue to do our part in prosecuting and raising awareness on illegal hunting, ensuring public safety and assisting in big game population management,” Modoc County District Attorney Nina Salarno said in the release.
Davis said his entire motivation since the incident “has been to make it right with the property owner. Hence, the $3,000 in restitution.”
According to the release, the hunting of pronghorn antelope in California is a highly coveted big game opportunity but also one that is tightly regulated to protect limited populations found mostly in the northeastern corner of the state, primarily in Modoc and Lassen counties.
CALTIP, which stands for Californians Turn In Poachers and Polluters, is a confidential secret witness program that encourages the public to provide CDFW with factual information leading to the arrest of poachers and polluters. Anyone witnessing a poaching or polluting incident or any fish and wildlife violation or who has information about such a violation should immediately dial the toll-free CALTIP number, 1-888 334-CALTIP (888-334-2258), available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If the information supplied by the caller results in an arrest, the caller becomes eligible for a reward. Up to $3,500 rewards have been granted. The case is then reviewed by a volunteer citizen’s group known as the “CALTIP Rewards Committee” to determine the amount of the reward. Visit the CALTIP web page for details.