Idaho bighorn sheep poacher gets lifetime hunting ban

BOISE – A southwest Idaho man who illegally killed a trophy bighorn sheep has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $10,000.

Fifty-three-year-old Paul Cortez of Nampa also received a lifetime hunting ban at his sentencing on June 6 in Idaho County Court.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game in a news release Tuesday said conservation officers on patrol on the Salmon River on Nov. 6 discovered the poaching of the bighorn and confronted Cortez.

Cortez in April pleaded guilty to one felony of unlawfully killing a trophy big game animal.