Georgia-based hunting show host Matt Jennings has been banned from hunting in Kansas for life after pleading guilty to felony violations of the Lacey Act. He admitted to illegally killing multiple whitetail bucks in Kansas and then broadcasting the footage on his YouTube show, The Game with Matt Jennings.
The hunts in question took place during the 2022 season. Jennings killed a deer near Florence, Kansas, in an area of the state for which he did not have a legal tag. So, he drove the buck to Oklahoma, where he fraudulently registered the kill online.
Eight days later, Jennings killed another buck near Wakeeny. Although he did possess a valid tag for that region, Kansas hunters are only allowed to legally kill one antlered deer per season. Those kills later showed up online, packaged with music and narration, as YouTube content. Federal investigators later used footage from Jenning's videos as evidence in the case and leaned heavily on the Lacey Act, a federal law that kicks in when wildlife violations cross state lines, particularly when fraud or commercialization is involved.
A federal judge sentenced Jennings to five years' probation. During that time, he’s barred from guiding, hunting, trapping, fishing, or even accompanying others while they do so in Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. He was fined $10,000, ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution, and required to hand over all mounts and antlers tied to the case. He also received a lifetime hunting ban in the Sunflower State, according to Kansas Wildlife and Parks.
The Unmitigated Gall
What rubs a lot of folks raw is that the illegal hunts weren’t just accidental slip-ups like crossing an invisible boundary line or forgetting to notch a tag before the gutting knife comes out. This was a guy chasing fame who broke the rules and brought a camera crew along to capture it.
The hunts were filmed, edited, and posted for likes, views, and shares. At the time, The Game had more than 60,000 YouTube subscribers, and Jennings was becoming a recognizable name in the influencer-hunting world.
Others, more sympathetic to Jennings, say the consequences still cut deep. A lifetime ban from Kansas and years-long restrictions across multiple states are no slap on the wrist for someone who built his name chasing big bucks on public land.
Jennings has continued to post on social media, though the tone in the comments has shifted sharply. In a Facebook post promoting a deer attractant with the caption “Too Legit to Quit,” a commenter fired back, “You mean like trying to harvest 2 Kansas whitetail bucks in the same year while tagging one in Oklahoma? Get real with yourself, pal. Your future in the hunting community is over. McDonald’s is hiring.”
Jennings also recently uploaded a YouTube video montage of past hunts full of kill shots and hero antler grabs. But that has also been met with scathing ridicule.
“You are a disgrace to ethical hunters and have smeared us all in the name of clicks and likes. Shame on you!” one commenter wrote.
Whether this is “Game Over” for Jennings or just an intermission remains to be seen. But in a community where ethics is currency and trust is earned one season at a time, he has a hard road ahead to earn back his viewership.
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