Nonresident Hunters Cited for Waste of Game Animals

Four nonresident so-called hunters recently learned that Idaho takes waste of game animals seriously. John McDonald, Jonathan McDonald, Robert Tisdale, and Anthony Renison were hunting in the Pine Creek drainage of Unit 28 as well as in the vicinity of Shoup in Unit 21 during both deer and elk seasons. One man killed a 2 X 3 mule deer as well as a nice 6 X 6 bull elk. A 4 X 4 mule deer was killed by another in the party, and a third killed a 4 X 5 elk; quite a nice harvest of animals. Unfortunately, properly field dressing the animals and packing the meat back to camp was not a priority and most of the harvestable meat was left to rot. Only the hind legs, backstraps and a few chunks of miscellaneous meat of both deer and the smaller elk were removed. The head of the 6 X 6 elk was packed out along with the tenderloins, but the rest was left on the hillside. The potential average weight of completely boned meat that would have come from these four animals is approximately 525 pounds. The amount of meat brought out by these nonresident hunters totaled 231 pounds including bones. Given these figures, a minimum amount of 294 pounds of meat was completely wasted, left on the hillside to rot. Needless-to-say the actions of these men did not impress either Conservation Officers Dane Cook and Ryan Hilton or Lemhi County Magistrate Jerry Meyers. All four received license revocations until January 1, 2005, civil penalties of $750 for the elk and $400 for the deer, fines of $500, court costs of $71, and 16 days in jail unless they could pay their fines. Total fines and penalties paid in this case amounted to $5,084. Anthony Renison who did not actually kill one of the wasted animals was cited for principal to waste and received the same fines and penalties as his friends. Waste of game animals is a crime against wildlife and Idaho's citizens. If you find wasted animals, please contact a Conservation Officer or call the Citizen's Against Poaching hotline at 1-800- 632-5999.