Posted on 01/18/2004 5:56:36 PM PST by 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.
As to this incident. I wasn't there, don't know the limits or conditions and suspect that a cow moose in Saudi Arabia could be confused for a young camel. Do they have Elk in florida now too ?:o)
All joking aside modern optics and hunting shows on the killin channels (OLN and such) should make any such "error" extreamly rare. Hunters not sure of their game, it's sex and downrange hazards from their shot are idiots. These idiots create the phonebook like thick rules ,regulations , fees and harrassment by bunny cops that is driving hunters from the harvest of meat and cheap food for their families.
Stay Safe !
Man, those guys are brave. I wouldn't go near that thing sitting near a road with so many idiots driving by. They could have been mistaken for a button buck standing on his rear legs, wearing clothes. When you're dealing with morons, anything could happen!
Stay Safe !
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