EATON, Ind — An Indiana taxidermist has been charged with several felonies and ordered to return all property back to his customers after an investigation found he was taking clients' property but not completing the work and, in some cases, waiting so long the hides were no longer suitable for taxidermy.
Shawn Huntington, the owner of Buck Fever Taxidermy in Eaton, was arrested and charged Tuesday with corrupt business influence and three counts of theft.
Documents say on multiple occasions customers paid Huntington a down payment for taxidermy services, but never received the finished product.
In many of these cases, the customers would ask conservation officers to step in to help.
In one instance, a customer told conservation officers he had taken an antlered whitetail deer to Huntington. After that, the customer never heard back from Huntington, despite the fact they tried to call him multiple times and even stopped by his business and left notes on the door.
In August 2022, conservation officers stopped by to talk to Huntington about the customer's complaint. It was one of several similar visits officers have had with him since July 2021.
During that visit, they saw a large storage rack completely full of antlers that were tightly packed on the rack. Plus, documents say there were numerous other antlers hanging on miscellaneous storage areas around his shop. All were presumably from customers.
He also had three bears and, in his storage freezer, there were several bags of hides that were from various customers. Officers said the freezer smelled like spoiled meat and that the majority of the hides in the freezer won't be suitable for taxidermy.
After taking a look around, officers said there were no signs that he was actually doing any taxidermy work.
Huntington told the officers he was two seasons behind. Documents also say he blew them off when they told him his phone had to be working so customers could reach him.
Officers served a search warrant at Huntington's business and arrested him Wednesday morning.
How to get your property back
Huntington has also been ordered to return all property back to his customers. To facilitate returns in an orderly fashion and provide the proper documentation for the court, Indiana conservation officers will conduct the exchange.
Customers who want their property returned will need to attend one of two dates set for the exchange. Customers will need to bring any receipts, canceled checks or other items that may show ownership of an item, as well as a valid form of identification. If the owner of an item cannot make one of these dates in person, officers said they can send a representative with the documentation.
The dates customers will be able to retrieve their items from Indiana Conservation Officers District 4 headquarters, which is at 3734 Mounds Road in Anderson, are:
- Friday, Jan. 13, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Saturday, Jan. 14, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
