An illegal wildlife hunter has been ordered to watch the Walt Disney animation ‘Bambi’ for a year.
This unorthodox sentence was delivered after the conviction of several men in Lawrence County, Missouri for illegally poaching deer and other wildlife.
The ringleader, David Berry Jr. has been ordered to watch the 1942 film at least once a month for one year. This strange but revolutionary method of rehabilitation was ordered by County Judge Robert George, in an effort to alter the trophy hunter’s perception of illegal wildlife poaching.
The case – that has taken nearly three years to prosecute – has been labelled the biggest of its kind in Lawrence County History. Berry Jr. and his father have been illegally poaching for several years now, and it’s believed hundreds of deer have fallen victim to these men. With the trophy hunters only taking the heads of the animals, often leaving a headless carcass to rot in the undergrowth, prosecutors and jurors were disgusted by the men’s lack of respect for a living animal.
The youngest poacher, Berry Jr’s brother – Kyle Berry, was also arrested in August of this year on charges relating to Spotlighting – a process whereby the hunter shines a bright torch at the deer they are hunting, temporarily blinding them and leaving them in a trance-like state.
The investigation that came to a climax during the past eight months led to the arrest of over 14 Missouri residents with over 300+ combined charges that violated State, County, and Federal Law.
This might well be the strangest sentence you’ve ever heard issued by a court of law of but the order to watch the nearly 75-year-old Disney classic paves the way for an interesting future in crime prevention. The iconic kids’ film features that infamous scene of Bambi’s mother.
Judge Robert George presumably selected to force the viewing of this feature in an attempt to play on the heartstrings of Berry Jr. and subconsciously provoke regret and empathy. This seemingly crazy technique will yield some interesting results.
