Man guilty of illegally keeping wildlife

TANNERSVILLE — Some may have thought Stephen Andrew Moore, 46, of Tannersville, enjoyed wildlife. However, as neighbors may have noticed a decline in the local wildlife populations, it became clear that Moore was participating in a non-traditional form of poaching: possession of wildlife illegally taken from the wild for “a hobby that got out of control,” according to Moore. Game Commission Wildlife Conservation officers said that, on Oct. 29, Moore pled guilty to 30 counts of illegal possession of various species ranging from blue jays to raccoons, from chipping sparrows to gray squirrels, from groundhogs to purple finches. In May, officers acting on a tip, found numerous cages on Moore’s front porch and bird traps surrounding the house. As part of the plea agreement, charges against Moore for cruelty to animals were withdrawn. District Judge Thomas E. Olsen, of Tannersville, ordered Moore to pay $2,250 in fines, and $750 in reimbursement to the Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for expenses incurred treating the wildlife that survived. Some 20 birds subsequently died at the rehabilitator’s site, due to the poor conditions where they had been kept.