The Poacher Who Was Ordered to Watch Bambi Every Month

Part 1 — The Unusual Sentence That Shocked the World

In December 2018, a Missouri courtroom delivered a sentence that sounded almost too strange to be true.

David Berry Jr., a Missouri man convicted of illegally taking wildlife, was ordered to spend a year in jail. But that was not the only punishment imposed on him.

During his incarceration, Berry was ordered to watch Walt Disney’s 1942 animated classic Bambi at least once every month.

The first viewing was required to take place by December 23, 2018, followed by another viewing each month for the duration of his incarceration.

The unusual order immediately attracted international attention because Bambi contains one of the most famous scenes in Disney history: Bambi’s mother is killed by a hunter, leaving the young deer alone in the forest.

The symbolism was difficult to miss.

Berry had been involved in a large-scale poaching investigation involving hundreds of illegally killed deer. Investigators said many of the animals were trophy-class bucks, killed primarily for their heads and antlers, with the rest of the carcasses left behind.

The story quickly became known as the “Bambi sentence.”

But behind the strange punishment was a much larger story—one involving years of investigation, anonymous tips, multiple states, Canada, hundreds of charges, and an extensive effort by conservation officers to dismantle a family-linked poaching operation.

The Missouri Department of Conservation later described the case as one of the largest poaching investigations in the state's history.

And the more investigators uncovered, the more complicated the case became.

Part 2 — A Family Operation Hidden in the Missouri Countryside

The investigation centered on members of the Berry family in southwest Missouri.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the operation involved multiple generations of family members and extended across Missouri and other jurisdictions.

The case eventually involved violations in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Canada.

At first, however, investigators did not have the evidence necessary to prove the scale of the alleged activity.

Conservation Agent Andy Barnes later explained that he had been receiving information about the Berry family for years.

Some tips were dramatic.

One claim suggested that David Berry Jr. could kill approximately 100 deer in a year.

At the time, such a claim was difficult to verify.

Wildlife officers could not simply make an arrest because someone reported hearing a rumor. They needed evidence that could withstand scrutiny in court.

Some potential witnesses were also reluctant to cooperate.

According to Barnes, some people were afraid to provide additional information.

That made the investigation slow and difficult.

For conservation officers, the problem was not simply discovering that illegal hunting might be occurring.

The challenge was proving exactly what happened, where it happened, when it happened and who was responsible.

The breakthrough eventually came in late 2015.

A tip pointed investigators toward a deer that Berry Jr. allegedly killed illegally in Kansas and transported into Missouri.

Two photographs became particularly important.

One showed Berry Jr. posing with a deer in Kansas. Another showed the deer after it had been transported to Missouri.

Those images changed the nature of the investigation.

The case was no longer simply about an alleged illegal kill in one state.

Transporting illegally harvested wildlife across state lines potentially created a federal violation under the Lacey Act.

That gave investigators an important federal connection.

The investigation had finally found the evidence it needed to move forward.

Part 3 — Operation Geronimo

Investigators eventually gave the case a codename: Operation Geronimo.

The name was chosen because David Berry Jr. had developed a reputation among investigators for being difficult to catch.

Conservation officers sometimes arrived at locations where they believed illegal hunting was taking place, only to discover that the suspects had disappeared.

The investigation required patience.

It also required secrecy.

According to Barnes, the case eventually involved a large number of officers working across different jurisdictions.

In August 2016, Missouri conservation agents served arrest warrants following an approximately eight-and-a-half-month investigation.

The operation was far larger than a single county.

Charges were filed in multiple Missouri counties, including Lawrence, Linn, Shannon, Dade, Greene, Putnam, Harrison, DeKalb, Barton, Vernon and Benton.

The investigation also reached beyond Missouri.

Officials connected suspects to wildlife violations in Kansas, Nebraska and Canada.