A Raymondville man has been sentenced in federal court for using a pesticide to poison wildlife in Texas County.

Eric Laney Bryant, 45, was ordered to pay a $500 fine after pleading guilty to all three counts of a misdemeanor information before U.S.
Magistrate Judge James C. England on Monday.

Bryant operated a hunting guide service. He admitted he injected the registered restricted-use pesticide Carbofuran -- trade name, Furadan -- into deer meat and placed the poisoned bait on his property in January 2009 in an effort to kill coyotes.

From the feds:

"He maintained the poisoned bait on his property until Feb. 26, 2009, when agents of the Missouri Department of Conservation located three dead domestic dogs, several dead coyotes, a dead gray fox, a dead skunk, a dead red-tailed hawk and three dead American crows -- all of which were killed by Carbofuran -- on his property ...

"Bryant pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act for using Carbofuran for an unlawful purpose and for using Carbofuran when he was not a certified applicator. Bryant also pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in relation to the deaths of the red-tailed hawk and American crows."