× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Two Kentucky men were fined more than $30,000 and lost their hunting privileges for 15 years after poaching two bull elk in southeastern Wyoming – on national TV.

Ricky J. Mills, 37, and Jimmy G. Duncan, 25, pleaded no contest Monday to various wildlife violations stemming from the 2014 poaching incident.

The men were deer hunting north of Douglas for the “Western Redemption” episode of the television show “Hunting in the Sticks” when they decided to shoot two mature bull elk, according to a news release from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Elk tags in hunt area 113 near Douglas are highly sought after and include a restriction allowing bull harvest only every other year, the release stated. The men had tags for elk hunt area 51, which borders Yellowstone National Park.

“I believe the two defendants were driven to get kill shot footage for the television show and that resulted in their making bad decisions,” said Mike Ehlebracht, Game and Fish’s investigative supervisor.

A “concerned citizen” saw the show and called Game and Fish to report the elk were not killed in the area designated on their licenses, the release continued.