Five shooters each plead guilty to killing greater than the legal limit of waterfowl and leaving behind many of the waterfowl they killed while hunting in Hendry County, announced the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) in a joint effort.

“These folks were greedy," said Jim Gale, of the FWS Southeast Region. "They are not hunters and they've done a great disservice to America's hunting tradition.”

FWC officials witnessed the defendants killing many of the ducks. As the officers approached, the defendants continued shooting more ducks, “then picked through the ducks, taking the ones they wanted and leaving the rest behind.”

Due to the severity of the violation and the gross over limit of waterfowl killed, the case was handed over from the FWC to the USFWS for further investigation and federal prosecution. In total the defendants killed 88 ducks, more than 50 ducks above the legal limit. These violations are federal misdemeanor crimes under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and carry a maximum fine of $15,000, six months in jail and five years probation for each count.