Wis. Appeals Court Orders Man to Turn Over Claimed Roadkill Deer Trophy

It's too late for John Longo to return the deer carcass he is accused of taking from beside a Wisconsin roadway without a permit: He ate it.

But a state appeals court has ordered the 69-year-old to return the head, which he had mounted, to state wildlife officials, reports WKOW-TV.

The article doesn't explain how the February 2008 incident came to the attention of authorities.

The appeals court was asked to weigh in on the deer trophy fray after Racine County Circuit Court judge ordered Longo to turn over the mounted head by Oct. 31, 2008, if state wildlife officials asked for it before then. If they didn't ask, the judge ruled, they would be required to issue Longo a permit. Prosecutors argued that the Halloween deadline was inappropriate, and the 2nd District Court of Appeals reversed.

It ordered Longo to turn over the head to the state Department of Natural Resources immediately, WKOW recounts.