Forged signatures on alligator tags to obtain hunting rights, LDWF says
A 52-year-old Plaquemine man recently pleaded guilty to false swearing and alligator theft in 19th Judicial District Court in East Baton Rouge Parish in connection with a 2011 investigation into illegally obtained alligator tags.
According to a press release, John Boudreaux, 52, was sentenced by Judge Richard Moore to one year of supervised probation and 30 hours of community service, and was fined $100 plus court costs and ordered to pay $5,000 for the cost of his prosecution.
Boudreaux was arrested on Oct. 14, 2011 after agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries received a tip about a man illegally acquiring tags from the department.
Agents found that Boudreaux forged signatures on alligator tag applications in order to obtain the rights to hunt alligators on land where he did not have permission, the release states.
LDWF records indicate Boudreaux illegally obtained 150 tags and harvested 149 gators in West Baton Rouge and Iberville parishes since 2001.
An alligator hunter must either own land or have permission to hunt alligators on land that is classified as wetland habitat in order to qualify for alligator harvest tags, the release states.
LDWF issues harvest tags for property containing sufficient alligator habitat capable of sustaining an alligator harvest, and wild alligator tags, which are not transferable, can only be issued to licensed alligator hunters.
