Palo Alto Rod and Gun Club prohibited from selling dove hunts for two years.
The Palo Alto Rod and Gun Club and three Donaldsonville men on June 24 pleaded guilty to Migratory Bird Treaty Act violations in Federal Middle District Court in Baton Rouge, and were ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen C. Riedlinger to pay a total of $34,810 in fines and assessments for the violations, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reported today (June 29).
LDWF enforcement agents cited the Donaldsonville-area gun club in September of 2007 for baiting a dove field to attract mourning doves for paid hunts.
Agents also cited 62-year-old Robert Lemann Sr., 38-year-old Robert Lemann Jr., 62-year-old Kenneth Gomez and 60-year-old Wayne Gomez for baiting a dove field.
All four men are either employed or connected to the club.
The Palo Alto Rod and Gun Club was ordered to pay a $25,300 fine, along with $350 in assessments. The club also was placed on probation for two years during providing any paid dove hunts is prohibited. The elder Lemann represented the Palo Alto Rod and Gun Club and accepted their penalties.
Robert Lemann Jr. was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $70 in assessments. Kenneth Gomez was fined $3,000 plus $70 in assessments. Wayne Gomez was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and $20 in assessments.
All three men were placed on one year of probation with the stipulation that they cannot provide any paid dove hunts.
LDWF agents began investigating the Palo Alto Rod and Gun Club in August 2007 after receiving a public complaint. Agents set up surveillance on the club, and observed dove fields that were baited with wheat seeds to attract mourning doves.
