A multi-state investigation is catching up with a traveling hunter from Ohio after complaints of several wildlife violations surfaced in 2025. Carter Hickey, 21, pled guilty in May to 17 counts of poaching for actions that include taking wildlife out of season, possessing animals illegally, hunting without permission, spotlighting, using a vehicle to aid in the killing of wildlife and not following game check rules. As part of the penalty for these crimes, Hickey has been ordered to post an apology video on social media.
“Many complaints came into the Ohio Natural Resources Division of Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” states the federal agency in its report earlier this month. “These tips led us to uncover something much bigger. Hickey had violated wildlife laws in at least 17 states and had even more on his radar.”
Hickey is shown in a photo wearing camo while posing with four dead turkeys.
“These weren’t small mistakes,” the agency stated in the report. “They were a deliberate pattern of violations.”
Hickey now owes $33,500 in fines and restitution plus 15 days in jail. He’s also due for 80 hours of community service and he can’t hunt or trap for five years. Those are pretty standard penalties, but then there are two creative add-on disciplinary measures. Hickey had to send an apology letter to the city of Dover, Ohio for trespassing and poaching a 10-point buck in a public park. He also had to apologize to his following on social media.
“Hickey posted false information about his activities on TikTok, bragging about his hunting skills, despite many of his actions being illegal,” wrote the agency. “Because of this he was required to post an apology on the same channel.”
It does not appear that Hickey has posted the apology video yet.
The penance doesn’t end there. Hickey surrendered three guns, a bow, blinds, decoys, 115 pounds of turkey meat and 47 turkey fans.
“These are not only evidence, but they also represent real conservation losses,” the agency stated. “Poaching damages far more than one species. It harms trust and puts honest hunters at a disadvantage.”
Hickey is also accused of helping three other people illegally harvest turkeys. Those three owe $5,000 in fines and they will lose their guns and hunting privileges for two years.
Hickey’s case comes to light close on the heels of another poaching case also involving hunting content creators out of Ohio. As OL reported in early August, two cousins face poaching penalties after being caught on trail cameras pursuing deer in a 1,100-acre city park. William Bethel, 28, and Justin Booth, 23, have 40 guilty pleas combined because of evidence collected at Three Creeks Metro Park where hunting is not allowed.
“They treated it like it was their private hunting preserve,” said Mark Williams, of the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s Franklin County office, during an agency podcast. “Our resources were being poached, but it wasn’t for the whole, ‘I’m going to take these deer to market and sell them.’ It was, ‘I’m going to sell this experience of poaching this deer and dress it up like I’m an honest hunter instead.’”
Bethel and Booth owe more than $37,000 in penalties and have to serve their nine days of jail time during the ‘26-‘27 hunting season. They also can’t hunt, fish, trap or visit parks for five years.
Read the full article here
