Oh, deer!

Host of ‘The Game’
learns poaching isn’t one

By FINN HARTNETT

Staff writer

The host of the hunting show “The Game” has been banned from hunting and fishing in Kansas for life after he poached two deer, including one outside of Florence.

Matt Jennings of Bowdon, Georgia, pleaded guilty to two counts of illegally taking a whitetail deer.

He was ordered to pay $15,000 to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, pay an additional $10,000 fine, and give up the antlers from both whitetails.

Jennings also was sentenced to five years probation, during which he is banned from hunting, trapping, fishing, or joining anyone engaged in those activities in eight states: Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota.

Jennings killed the first whitetail Nov. 11, 2022, near Florence. He did not possess a tag required to legally capture game in the area. The next day, he drove to Oklahoma and fraudulently listed the kill as taking place there.

Jennings killed another whitetail Nov. 19, 2022, near WaKeeney in western Kansas.

Although he possessed a valid tag for the area, killing two antlered deer in one season exceeded the bag limit, a violation of state law.

In a release, the Department of Justice said both illegal hunts were filmed and featured on “The Game.”

The show is billed on Jennings’ website as “a dark, in your face, more serious look at what makes a hunter tick.”

“The Game” airs on YouTube, where it has amassed 62,700 subscribers, and the streaming service CarbonTV.

Jennings could not be reached for comment.