Any chance this is the same guy? -------------------- FAIRBANKS � A Fairbanks sheep hunter was fined $500 for selling an old Dall sheep taxidermy mount to an undercover Alaska State Trooper on {elsewhere}.
Tim Dingey, 38, appeared in court Friday and pleaded guilty to illegally selling a big game trophy.
In a phone interview on Saturday, Dingey said he bought the mount for $400 at a garage sale seven or eight years ago, before he took up sheep hunting, and said he didn�t know it was illegal to sell it. Dingey said he�s preparing to leave the state and �was getting rid of some things that didn�t mean that much to me� when he advertised the sheep mount on {elsewhere}.
�I didn�t realize that was illegal,� he said.
When undercover Alaska Wildlife Trooper Ken Vanspronsen, who saw the post on {elsewhere}, showed up on Jan. 5 and offered $450 for the mount, Dingey agreed.
�Then he pulls out his badge and pulls out the regulations and reads them to me,� Dingey said. �I didn�t realize it was against the law. I�ve seen plenty of stuff like that for sale on Craig�slist.�
Dingey said the mount was at least 30 years old and wasn�t what you�d consider a trophy.
�The hair was falling out. The hair was discolored. It wasn�t full curl,� he said. �It was something that was shot in the 70s.�
But Vansrponsen said state law prohibits the sale of big game trophies in Alaska. That includes taxidermy mounts of heads, horns, antlers and skulls attached to antlers. Horns or antlers must be completely detached from the skull to be sold, the trooper said.
A sheep hunter himself, Dingey said he�s embarrassed by what he called �an honest mistake� and was hoping Vanspronsen would give him a warning. He described himself as a law-abiding citizen and Iraq war veteran with a clean record who learned his lesson but said the trooper �didn�t want to hear anything about it.�
�I got my hand burnt and learned from it,� Dingey said. �I�m not too happy about it. If I actually knew it was illegal, it would be like me putting marijuana for sale on {elsewhere}. Who would do that?�
People selling big game trophies on {elsewhere} or eBay is �unfortunately more common than you might think,� Vanspronsen said. Troopers monitor both sites for possible illegal activity and also get calls from individuals who notice illegal postings, he said.
