Poacher sentenced to monthly viewings of Disney's 'Bambi' over involvement in scheme to 'illegally kill hundreds of deer'

A man has been sentenced to monthly viewings of Disney's Bambi due to his involvement in a large-scale deer poaching case.

David Berry Jr, of Brookline, Missouri, was ordered to watch the 1942 animated classic on or before 23 December, 2018, then once a month during his year-long incarceration, the Springfield News-Leader reported.

In Disney's film, Bambi's mother is famously killed by a hunter, leaving the young fawn to fend for himself.

The case that led to Berry's sentencing is one of the largest deer poaching cases in the history of Missouri, conservation agents have said. Hundreds of dear were killed illegally according to authorities.

The animals "were trophy bucks taken illegally, mostly at night, for their heads, leaving the bodies of the deer to waste," Lawrence County Prosecuting Attorney Don Trotter told the newspaper.

Berry pleaded guilty to taking wildlife illegally and was sentenced to a year behind bars.

He also received a 120-day sentence for a firearms probation violation, which he will serve in addition to his other jail time.

Lawrence County Judge Robert George ordered Berry to “view the Walt Disney movie Bambi, with the first viewing being on or before 23 December, 2018, and at least one such viewing each month thereafter” during his time at the county jail.

Three relatives and another man have been caught in connection to the same poaching case, the Associated Press reported.

They have paid $51,000 worth of fines and court costs.

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A conservationist told the Springfield News-Leader that leaving the deer's bodies to rot, taking only the head, is a practice motivated by "greed and ego", where obtaining the animal's head is similar to getting a "trophy".