30inchbucks
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Video to assist in determining if deer kill legal
By Ray Grass
Deseret Morning News
Information gathered from a video showing the shooting of a trophy buck during last year's general deer hunt has been turned over to the Kane County attorney.
In question is whether or not the deer was legally shot.
Barry Huntington, deputy Kane County attorney, said he received facts of the case from investigators from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources on June 11, "and I've just started to screen the information to see about criminal charges."
The video was taken by a hunter on public land. The deer was shot on private land in the Alton area, located in the center of the highly prized Paunsaugunt deer-hunt unit in the Southern Region of the state, a little southeast of Cedar City.
An eight-foot fence is being put up around the entire town of Alton in hopes of keeping deer from getting into farmers' fields. A depredation problem last year resulted in several deer being killed. Only three sides of the fence had been completed prior to the October deer hunt.
According to Rudy Musclow, law enforcement chief for the DWR, deer and elk were able to move about through ungated holes in the fence. Just prior to the hunt, however, gates were installed that stopped wildlife movement.
The video shows elk and a large buck, with a 36-inch spread between the two branches of horns, trapped against the fence.
A hunter, with a legal Cooperative Wildlife Management Permit, attempted to shoot the buck, but the rifle misfired, said the wildlife officer. He then retrieved a second rifle and wounded the deer. It was then necessary to get a third rifle to dispose of the animal.
Utah big game law states that a deer cannot be taken by capture.
"In question is whether or not it was illegal because there was a fence on only three sides. People stopped the animals from escaping on the side that was not fenced," said Musclow.
"It's certainly questionable, but it will be up to the county attorney to determine if it was illegal."
The video also shows that the hunter was not wearing hunter orange. Hunters are required to wear at least 300 inches of hunter orange in the form of a hat, coat, sweatshirt or vest while hunting.
There are a limited number of permits issued for the Paunsaugunt Unit each season. In 2003, there were nearly 500 applications submitted for 30 permits. The unit is considered to hold some of Utah's largest bucks.
Troy Justensen, chairman of the board for Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, said his group contributed money to build the fence, "in order to keep deer from getting into the fields and being shot. The contractor simply wasn't able to finish the fence before the hunting season. This is a large fence. When finished it will be several miles long."
The hunter was with an outfitter at the time the deer was shot.
Huntington gave no timetable for when he would have a decision on the case.
By Ray Grass
Deseret Morning News
Information gathered from a video showing the shooting of a trophy buck during last year's general deer hunt has been turned over to the Kane County attorney.
In question is whether or not the deer was legally shot.
Barry Huntington, deputy Kane County attorney, said he received facts of the case from investigators from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources on June 11, "and I've just started to screen the information to see about criminal charges."
The video was taken by a hunter on public land. The deer was shot on private land in the Alton area, located in the center of the highly prized Paunsaugunt deer-hunt unit in the Southern Region of the state, a little southeast of Cedar City.
An eight-foot fence is being put up around the entire town of Alton in hopes of keeping deer from getting into farmers' fields. A depredation problem last year resulted in several deer being killed. Only three sides of the fence had been completed prior to the October deer hunt.
According to Rudy Musclow, law enforcement chief for the DWR, deer and elk were able to move about through ungated holes in the fence. Just prior to the hunt, however, gates were installed that stopped wildlife movement.
The video shows elk and a large buck, with a 36-inch spread between the two branches of horns, trapped against the fence.
A hunter, with a legal Cooperative Wildlife Management Permit, attempted to shoot the buck, but the rifle misfired, said the wildlife officer. He then retrieved a second rifle and wounded the deer. It was then necessary to get a third rifle to dispose of the animal.
Utah big game law states that a deer cannot be taken by capture.
"In question is whether or not it was illegal because there was a fence on only three sides. People stopped the animals from escaping on the side that was not fenced," said Musclow.
"It's certainly questionable, but it will be up to the county attorney to determine if it was illegal."
The video also shows that the hunter was not wearing hunter orange. Hunters are required to wear at least 300 inches of hunter orange in the form of a hat, coat, sweatshirt or vest while hunting.
There are a limited number of permits issued for the Paunsaugunt Unit each season. In 2003, there were nearly 500 applications submitted for 30 permits. The unit is considered to hold some of Utah's largest bucks.
Troy Justensen, chairman of the board for Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, said his group contributed money to build the fence, "in order to keep deer from getting into the fields and being shot. The contractor simply wasn't able to finish the fence before the hunting season. This is a large fence. When finished it will be several miles long."
The hunter was with an outfitter at the time the deer was shot.
Huntington gave no timetable for when he would have a decision on the case.
