OnFocus – Wisconsin DNR conservation wardens from three local counties (Clark, Eau Claire, and Taylor) are actively investigating several poaching incidents that have taken place throughout Clark County this autumn, with charges expected against several groups of juveniles.
According to DNR Warden Lieutenant Robin Barnhardt, several weeks ago conservation wardens in Clark County started getting complaints and reports of deer that had been shot and left in fields in and around several areas in Clark County.
The wardens investigated and eventually made contact with several groups of juveniles from different communities in Clark County. They determined that those groups had been involved in numerous incidents where deer had been shined with a spotlight, shot, and left to rot in fields and ditches.
“It’s in the neighborhood of around 40 deer, and also includes a horse,” said Barnhardt. “One unfortunate victim had their horse spotlighted and shot, and it died. There was also a raccoon or two.”
(Raccoon as a species can be hunted at night when the season is open, but can’t be shot from the road and the harvest has to be made a certain way.)
According to Barnhardt, the DNR deems these types of incidents – where people wantonly and randomly kill wildlife with no purpose – as “thrill kill cases.”
He added that there are “bigger picture” concerns with this recent activity, given that the shooting took place at night and with no regard for public safety.
“There is significant risk to public safety when this stuff goes on. When folks are out spotlighting deer and shooting them, they generally aren’t very concerned with what’s behind the deer,” he said. “There’s a real concern with public safety when this kind of thing occurs at night because those involved aren’t thinking where their rifle round is going to go if they miss. It’s a serious safety issue.”
He added that, not only is it dangerous, activity like this wastes game and is in no way ethical.
“This is in no way, shape, or form ethical hunting,” said Barnhardt. “This is a dangerous activity. Any ethical hunter shudders at the thought of folks doing this. They want this to have no connection to the hunting community at all.”
Unfortunately, this poaching spree is not an isolated incident in Wisconsin.
“This does happen all over the state and generally in the fall. We tend to find that it’s young males in their late teens or early 20’s that are involved. Not always, but that’s generally the case,” said Barnhardt.
With help from Loyal Police Department and Clark County Sheriff’s Deputies, the Taylor County, Eau Claire County, and Clark County wardens have identified suspects in the recent Clark County incidents and collected evidence. The DNR is now in the process of finalizing reports.
“Given the scope of the case, it’s a fairly large administrative task to put everything together. We’re in the process of finalizing that case and once we get it finalized, our plan is to have a conversation with the Clark County DA and come to an agreement or resolution on what would be fair or appropriate charges,” said Barnhardt. “We will certainly be taking enforcement action after conferring with the DA.”
Due to the suspects being juveniles, the case won’t be handled with the same level of severity as if it were an adult offender and the focus will be on correction versus punishment, but Barnhardt said Wisconsin law is very clear about there having been an offense.
“We have laws that prohibit ‘hunting during the closed season’ and that’s the law that applies in this situation. There’s a specified season when you can shoot deer with a firearm. This occurred outside of that window,” he said, adding that violating this is Class A Misdemeanor offense.
Barnhardt encourages members of the public to reach out if they suspect an incident.
“Ultimately, we rely on the public for information and this was a situation where members of the public realized that this was going on and thought it was important enough to call the DNR through the tip hotline. We can’t be everywhere at once, so we rely on the public to keep an eye on what’s going on out there,” he said.
“One thing I’d like to tell people is if they ever observe something like this occurring, the safest bet is to call law enforcement, and generally 911 works best,” he added. “We don’t want people to confront people with firearms that have committed a criminal offense. We strongly encourage folks if they see stuff like this happening – the best course is to make a call to 911 and report it.”
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Author: News Desk
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