Banned from fishing, hunting and trapping: Man pleads guilty to poaching 60 bobcats & gray foxes

CALIFORNIA (WITI) -- A Northern California man has been banned from fishing, hunting and trapping -- or going with others on related trips, for one year.

This, after he pleaded guilty to illegally poaching 60 bobcats and gray foxes for their pelts -- snaring them in traps he set in over 900 square miles in two counties -- according to the Los Angeles Times.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife Warden Nick Buckler recovered pelts from 60 poached bobcats and gray foxes. (Courtesy California Department of Fish and Wildlife)

Tracy Lee Shultz has been fined $5,000 and ordered to forfeit the pelts -- worth nearly $15,000, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Trapping bobcats for commercial purposes is legal in California -- but it must be done during the 70-day open season.

Authorities say Shultz unlawfully trapped bobcats and foxes in remote areas before the season opened.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Shultz tagged about 50 live traps, but wasn't able to remove the animals or check them daily -- required by California's Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Authorities observed Schultz for about three months before they began seizing evidence.

Shultz's furs were eventually sold to a licensed dealer -- according to the Los Angeles Times.

CLICK HERE for more on this story via the Los Angeles Times.