A Georgia man has been sentenced to five years of probation and a life-long ban from hunting and fishing in the state of Kansas after illegally killing two white-tailed deer and falsely registering one across state lines.
According to court documents, 35-year-old Matt Jennings of Bowdon, Georgia, pleaded guilty to two counts of the illegal taking of white-tailed deer in interstate commerce. The charges stem from two separate incidents in November 2022, both of which were later featured on Jennings’ hunting show, The Game.
On November 11, 2022, Jennings killed an antlered deer near Florence, Kansas—an area where his hunting tag was not valid. The following day, he transported the deer to Oklahoma and fraudulently registered the kill using an Oklahoma electronic tag.
Just over a week later, on November 19, Jennings shot and killed a second antlered deer near Wakeeney, Kansas. While he held a valid tag for that region, state law prohibits the killing of more than one antlered deer per season. By exceeding the bag limit, he violated Kansas state hunting regulations.
A federal judge sentenced Jennings to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, in addition to a $10,000 fine. He was also ordered to forfeit the antlers of both deer that were illegally killed.
As part of his probation terms, Jennings is barred from guiding, hunting, trapping, fishing, or even accompanying others engaged in these activities in several states, including Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Missouri Department of Conservation, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division.
Wildlife advocates say this case underscores the need for stronger enforcement of hunting regulations and greater accountability for public figures who have influence. When illegal hunting is glamorized or monetized, it undermines conservation efforts and threatens already vulnerable species.
