Many come down to the great state of Florida to escape the winter months, evil politicians and, in some cases, to chase some incredibly unique birds. Yes, the Sunshine State is the only place on the planet that hunters can chase the ever-elusive Osceola subspecies of turkey, most commonly found in the middle of our fair peninsula.
For those looking to complete a North American turkey grand slam, many arrive here in hopes of checking off the Osceola subspecies to go along with the Merriam’s, Rio Grande and Eastern varieties of gobblers.
As any one can imagine, having access to one truly unique subspecies in a fairly limited body of land – a lot of which happens to be privately owned – and you’ve got the makings for sky high outfitting prices and, in some cases, dodgy business dealings. With hunts ranging anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 per bird, things can get competitive as out-of-state hunters come flush with cash looking to get a shot at one of these birds. And with that kind of money floating around, some folks will do whatever it takes to line their pockets when the going is good.
Such is the case coming out of two Florida counties this week after four men were charged with felonies for scamming good-hearted hunters out of tens of thousands of dollars on bogus bird hunts.
According to a release from Florida’s FWC, Razzor Ranch Blanket Hunting Preserve operator Larry Collins reportedly “advertised, promoted, and scheduled” hunts for wild Osceolas, accepted money for the hunts, and then coordinated with guides David Mills and Paul Beckham to take the hunters to locations in Hardee and Charlotte counties to shoot pen-raised turkeys disguised as wild Osceolas.
It just so happened that David Mills also ran a game farm in Charlotte County where the pen-raised birds were specially-bred to closely resemble true Osceola turkeys which were then released to unbeknownst hunters during their canned hunts.
The operation was well-rounded too, and with good reason. With the fourth suspect, Vernon Flowers, responsible for all the taxidermy work for the fake Osceola hunts through his business, Skins and Scales Taxidermy, he paid Collins a 10-percent kickback on the cash value of the taxidermy work for sending business his way. It was a great way to close the loop on the falsely-advertised business, as any well-trained taxidermist would be able to identify a true Osceola specimen.
Which ended up being exactly what brought the house down.
After being under investigation for license issues in 2019, FWC was having trouble pinning any real crimes on the operators. That is until the spring of 2021 when one of the defrauded hunters took what he believed to be his wild Osceola to his own taxidermist rather than using the highly-touted Flowers. It didn’t take his taxidermist long to identify the fatty carcass, the odd-colored feathers in the bird’s fan and its short legs and “large and deformed” feet. All of which, in his professional opinion, screamed of a domesticated turkey. Following the findings, the hunter alerted FWC, which led to a full-blown investigation.
The carcass was then shipped off to the FWC DNA lab in Gainesville where test results indicated that the bird was more genetically “similar to a domestic turkey and a Bronze turkey” than an Osceola.
As a result of the investigation, the four men were charged this week as follows:
Larry Collins, 58, of Punta Gorda: Organized fraud, conspiracy to commit organized fraud, cheating, unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
David Mills, 57, of Arcadia: Organized fraud, conspiracy to commit organized fraud.
Paul Beckham, 49, of Punta Gorda: Organized fraud, conspiracy to commit organized fraud, cheating, unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
Vernon Flowers, 71, of Naples: Organized fraud, conspiracy to commit organized fraud.
“This fraudulent scheme not only deceived hunters but also exploited a revered species of Florida’s wildlife,” said Lt. Col. Randy Bowlin, FWC Deputy Director of Law Enforcement over North Operations and Investigations/Intelligence. “We want public, private and tribal landowners to know that we are working diligently to ensure that captive raised, non wild turkeys will not be released near their lands. Hunters can be reassured that the opportunity to hunt a wild Osceola turkey will remain, and legitimate outfitters will not have competition from unethical and fraudulent turkey guide services or outfitters.”
All images courtesy FWC
