Nugent posts apology for deer-baiting fine

Rocker and outdoors enthusiast Ted Nugent has apologized for running afoul of state wildlife laws, stemming from a plea of no contest last week in Marysville to a charge of baiting deer.

On Nugent's website, tednugent.com, he posted a short message today saying he should have done a better job of learning state hunting laws.

"To my Fellow Outdoorsmen ... You may have read the news that I pled (sic) no contest to two misdemeanor game violations. I should have been better informed, more aware and I take full responsibility," Nugent wrote on his site. "The honorable hunting lifestyle is my deepest passion."

Nugent, who did not appear in Yuba County Superior Court when entering the no-contest plea last Friday, was fined $1,750 for the charge of baiting deer.

A state Department of Fish and Game warden had charges brought against Nugent after he saw the libertarian icon baiting deer on an Outdoor Channel show in March. The hunt where the deer were baited was last fall in El Dorado County, but Nugent apparently brought a deer killed in the hunt into Yuba County, where the show's photographer, a co-defendant with Nugent, lives.

Nugent also initially faced a charge of killing an immature buck, as documented on the program, but the charge was dropped during negotiations between his attorney and the Yuba County District Attorney's Office.

According to the terms of the plea, Nugent has until Oct. 1 to pay the fine.

Deer baiting is illegal in California, but not in other states, and deer-baiting equipment can be found at some hunting supplies stores.

Nugent, who has performed more than 6,000 concerts, was scheduled to play a show in Agoura Hills tonight.