HYDE PARK, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A hunter from the town of Hyde Park was dealt four tickets last month after environmental conservation police (ECOs) spotted a freshly killed wild turkey hanging on his property. Officers noticed the bird on December 10, after Hyde Park Police were told the man had been hunting from his porch near several homes.

When ECOs got to the hunter’s house, they interviewed him and asked to see his hunting license. While the hunter was retrieving his license from inside, an officer noticed the turkey.

The hunter, who returned with his license, said he shot the bird that morning as it was walking through the yard and planned to make sausage from it, according to a press release from the Department of Environmental Conservation. The 2022 turkey season in Dutchess County was only open during the month of May and from October 15 to 28.

The man was given tickets for taking a turkey out of season, illegally taking a protected species, failure to immediately fill out a hunting tag, and failure to tag the turkey upon harvest. Since measurements determined the hunter was further than 500 feet away from nearby homes when he shot the bird, he was not given tickets for hunting too close to a residence. The case is pending in Hyde Park Town Court.