Charges expected in elk farm shootings

Country Today ^ | 1-18-04

[SJackson]

EXELAND -- Charges are expected to be filed against two men, and possibly three, in an elk-shooting incident that left five farm elk dead and one wounded near Exeland during the deer gun season.

According to a criminal complaint prepared by the Birchwood police, two men, one from Minnesota and another from Ohio, said they mistook a small herd of farm elk for deer while driving along Fairman Road in the Town of Meteor east of Exeland on Nov. 23, at about 3:30 p.m.

The two men, after getting out of a pickup truck, shot from about 200 yards away at the animals, which were in a clearing on an elk farm and behind an 8-foot high fence. The fence was about 175 yards off the road and the shooters were about 20 feet from the road, according to the complaint.

A third man, from Rice Lake, was driving the truck and did not shoot, said Pete Weatherhead, a Birchwood police officer who investigated the incident.

The three men are related. The two shooters face possible criminal property damage charges in Sawyer County for shooting the farm elk, in addition to trespassing. The men could also be charged by the Department of Natural Resources with shooting from too close to a road -- hunters must be at least 50 feet from the road centerline.

Charges had not been filed as of Jan. 12 because the investigation is ongoing, according to the Sawyer County district attorney's office.

The elk were part of a herd of about 50 animals owned by three brothers, Dwayne, Don and Dan Arvold, who moved the herd to their Exeland farm from Emerald last summer.

Six elk were shot; three were found shortly after the shooting and had to be destroyed by one of their owners to prevent further suffering, according to the complaint. Two more wounded elk were found the next day and destroyed. In all, three bulls and two cows were killed. A sixth wounded cow also found the next day survived.

Investigator Pete Weatherhead said the men said they saw what they thought was a deer in a field and after traveling another 500 feet, saw what they thought were more deer in a clearing.

The two shooters told investigators they got out of the pickup, crossed an old fence line and began shooting at what they thought were deer while looking through "partially fogged" rifle scopes.

"They said they had a bunch of deer tags to fill," wrote Mr. Weatherhead, who said in his report that at least some of the elk were bedded down.

The two men said they thought they saw does. After they started shooting, some "big bucks" came into view, so they started shooting at them also. The men said they did not know how many "deer" they may have hit.

According to the complaint, the Rice Lake man told Mr. Weatherhead, "I guess we screwed up today."

Mr. Weatherhead said he found 11 shell casings where the men had fired their rifles. The two men admitted they did see and shoot at numerous "deer" but did not know how many they had hit, said the complaint.

[kingu]

Mr. Weatherhead said he found 11 shell casings where the men had fired their rifles. The two men admitted they did see and shoot at numerous "deer" but did not know how many they had hit, said the complaint.

11 shots, six wounded animals - not one kill. Pathetic shooting. I'm curious though - the article doesn't say how these three were caught - did they approach the clearing, find a eight foot fence, and walked to the farm's entrance to get at the 'deer' that they hit?

[Vinnie]

Let's see, one man from Minnesota, one from Ohio, the crime happened in__________.

[timberlandko]

Dunno how it is in Virginia, kaboom, but here in The Northwoods, if a local gets busted for poaching, its usually a lowlife with a history of screwing up. Yjere are exceptions, of course, but that's pretty much the rule. If anything, the out-of-towners are being given more than reasonable consideration.

Such incidendents aren't all that uncommon, either; one farm over from me, a llama was shot last year. I'm sure the shooter, from a Minneapolis suburb, mistook it for any other seven-foot tall, black-and-white deer.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Idiots,if they cant tell the difference between an elk and a deer. In Idaho I knew a rancher that painted cow on his stock during elk season,because of the out of state hunters,mostly from California.

These appear to be city slicker idiots from Minnesota and Ohio.

[kaboom]

Yeah, but didn't you guys also have that lifetime hunter who shot a horse out from under a girl? I just figure that any "city-slicker" who really wants to hunt, has probably been watching cable hunting shows where they make it quite clear whats being hunted. It's just a matter of either shooting whatever moves (no patience/discipline), or not knowing what you can get away with. Idiots, one and all. Oh well!

[timberlandko]

Yeah, the horse was shot out from under its rider not too far from here a couple years back ... the world is full of idiots, and some, like that one, get prosecuted. In response to whowever wanted to know how these particular idiots got busted, the Birchwood Police were notified by a couple different passers-by (locals) who noticed the truck and the "hunters", and took enough time and effort to report them.

[Lady Johanna]

I'm curious. If they had 'several tags to fill' did they go out in the field to tag the 'deer' they shot? did they just drive away? or what?? All the hunters I know tag their animals - and if they just wounded it, would spend many hours tracking it to make sure it didn't suffer.

[brbethke]

Wisconsin, it pains me to admit.

[ahadams2]

I've never known locals to get away with poaching deer...I've lived in rural Wisconsin, rural Arizona, and now rural Missouri, and as timberlandko says it's the usual lowlife types who get busted for poaching... Also almost anyone who has lived in a rural area for any length of time has found himself dealing with what might be politely referred to as naive and unprepared city hunters... It's not so bad here in western Missouri, but back in Wisconsin I can't tell you how many times I had to turn around trespassers from the public hunting ground next to our land because nobody ever told them that holding your compass directly in front of your rifle barrel results in either North or South being directly in front of you (doh!)....

[TheBattman]

Ummm...mistook ELK for DEER? I don't see how that could happen at ANY yardage...

Of course, these guys were obviously either drunk or stoned - and were hunting illegally anyway. What idiots.

[noutopia]

Only pointing out the hunters in Idaho,from California.

[editor-surveyor]

Too bad that you don't need to pass an eye test, and an IQ test to get a hunting license.

[editor-surveyor]

"In Idaho I knew a rancher that painted cow on his stock during elk season,because of the out of state hunters,mostly from California."

Pretty weak. Here in Concord (Calif) there are at least 250 head of elk, and across the river in Fairfield, probably another 200 or so, all within 30 miles of the city limits of San Francisco. Those critters make heads turn all the time when folks passing through see 'cows with trees on their heads' :o)

[noutopia]

Didn't know that there are real hunters in California.

[Polybius]

Musta been city slickers. Nobody who has hunted regularly would believe they just lucked onto a herd of wild "big deer".

[quietolong]

During gun deer I stopped at the White Birch ( on 64 the Dunn/ Chip co line ) for lunch. And reregister a deer. just happen to sit next to the owner of that farm.
These guys knew what they were shooting at. The one guy was even a Veterinarian.
He was being nice about it just asking to be paid for the loss. I guess they don’t want to pay up.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[SJackson]

It doesn't matter what they thought, that's only relevant when the judge assesses the penalty. Shoot an elk, legitimately thinking it's a deer (or a wrong sex deer), that's still a violation.

[editor-surveyor]

"Didn't know that there are real hunters in California."

Too many for the few places there are left to hunt. Isn't socialism great?

[SLB]

When growing up in Wyoming our neighbor had 5 saddle horses shot by a hunter from Pennsylvania. He thought they were just large does. They were not the best of livestock, but he paid dearly both for the horses and to the state for the numerous violations.

One fall my dad and the local funeral director (a friend of the family for years) set up a 55 gallon drum on saw horses, covered it with an old cow hide and fastened an old moth eaten deer head to it. They set this contraption up by a fairly busy road and would go out and count the bullet holes a couple of times a week. Seesh, the dummies would shoot several times at the other dummy and wonder why it just stood there.