This is Very Disturbing… Hunters are required to know what they are shooting….. yet they let this asshole skate free!!! WTF is wrong with our Government??
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah hunter who killed the first gray wolf seen near the Grand Canyon in seven decades won’t face criminal charges because he thought he was shooting a coyote, U.S. Fish and Wildlife announced Thursday.
The federal agency’s investigation concluded the hunter didn’t intentionally shoot the wolf, which is protected in Utah under the Endangered Species Act. The man, whose name was not released, realized his mistake after he saw the dead animal and immediately reported it to authorities, according to a news release. In Utah, anybody can hunt coyotes.
The 3-year-old female wolf — named “Echo” in a nationwide student contest — captured the attention of wildlife advocates across the county because it was so rare to see the animal near the Grand Canyon.
The wolf was shot in December in southern Utah. The Fish and Wildlife Service did DNA tests to confirm the wolf was the one seen roaming near the Grand Canyon’s North Rim and nearby forest earlier that year.
Fish and Wildlife officials said in the release that the case is a good reminder that all hunters should “identify their target before pulling the trigger.”
Investigators spoke with a hunter the man was with, reviewed other records and went in with their “eyes wide open” to make sure the man was being honest in saying he didn’t know it was a wolf, said Dan Rolince, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assistant special agent in charge of law enforcement for the region.
“We didn’t find anything to refute the hunter’s statement,” Rolince said.
Prosecutors tasked with making the final decision didn’t have evidence to prove the hunter knew he was shooting a wolf, meaning they fell short of reaching the burden created by the long-standing McKittrick policy, said U.S. attorney’s office spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch.
Utah hunter who killed Grand Canyon gray wolf won’t be charged.