AUGUSTA – Game wardens believe that the individual suspected in the illegal killing of a pregnant doe in Chesterville last week may have killed at least three other animals in the region. Operation Game Thief has raised its reward for information about the killings to $2,500.
According to information released by Maine Warden Service Cpl. John MacDonald Tuesday morning, three additional does were located after the discovery of the deer in Chesterville on April 22. That animal was discovered near the intersection of Bragdon Road and East Road at 2 p.m. Wednesday morning. Pregnant with twin fawns, the deer had suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the spine.
Over the last few days, three other does have been located, all of them killed under similar circumstances and left to waste. In all cases, MacDonald said in a prepared statement, the deer had been killed at night and left in open fields.
“These four doe deer could have produced another five fawns for the area,” MacDonald said.
The three deer were located on Route 106 in Leeds, Route 133 near the Dodge Road in Livermore Falls and on the River Road in Livermore.
“Anyone who saw suspicious activity in the areas of Leeds, Livermore, Livermore Falls (East Livermore), Chesterville, Jay, or surrounding areas are strongly encouraged to call the Maine Warden Service,” MacDonald said.
Maine Operation Game Thief, a private, non-profit organization that provides rewards for information relating to poaching and other Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife cases, has offered a reward for information relating to the case. A previously-offered reward of $1,000 for information leading to a conviction for whoever killed the deer has been raised to $2,500.
Anyone with information can contact Operation Game Thief (you can remain anonymous) at 1-800-ALERTUS (1-800-253-7887) or Public Safety Dispatch in Augusta at 207-624-7076 or Gray at 207-657-3030.
This is just heartless, and I hope justice is served ten-fold…..
Unflippinbelievable ! I sure do hope they find whoever is doing this!
Wonder what the penalty will be if they do get caught. I can think of a few appropriate sentences,probably not legal.
When they catch this person they should fine them $2500 in groceries to be donated to a local food pantry and make them volunteer 2500hrs at a local food pantry …..so they can see the value of much needed food and reflect on the harm of willful and wanton waste.
but idiots do. Unfortunately there is no IQ test to procure a firearm.
I totally agree with Lynch’im. Hope they catch these low lives.
Unless you think poachers would jack deer with a hammer, this is part of the price we pay for the Second Amendment. I would like to think that part of any penalty for this would include a ban on the poacher’s ability to get ahold of a firearm for quite some time. How that ban would square with the reality of firearm access is another matter. The pictures above are what freedom looks like.
WOW!!! This is not okay. I hope they find who ever did this
I don’t get it. The reward, and the response, to dead deer is greater than the reward/response to toxic waste left beside our waters???
I don’t condone this moron shooting deer, but the outrage seems a bit over the top. Shouldn’t we be more concerned about the buckets of adult diapers and the threat they posed to the health of our community?
I am more suspicious that this is being done by some fanatic with affiliations to HSUS and their agenda to end all hunting. It could be in retaliation to losing the bear referendum. These killings along with the cooperation of the media (posting gory pictures) COULD BE an attempt to sway public opinion of hunting enough to eventually end it.
@Seamus…a bow and arrow could have easily done the job without a gun. Also, good timing on that comment when three men were arrested in Alaska for wearing down and stabbing a moose to death, a hunting tactic used long before guns came along. See news channel 6. PS: Baltimore is a good example as to why I think I will hang on to my 2nd Amendment rights just a little longer.
Snowmelt:
Unless you’re in favor of letting these poachers keep their gun rights, I’m guessing you missed the point of my comment. This crime was committed by someone who shouldn’t possess or have access to a firearm. I’m not advocating an end of your right to be scared of Baltimore, HSUS, or the Easter Bunny. Load and lock. I don’t care. However, can we at least agree that if you start jacking deer with a firearm you should lose your right to possess firearms for some length of time?
Seamus…is it not already the law that a poacher, once caught, loses their right to have a firearm? I don’t see anyone commenting here arguing that point. I certainly wasn’t. Your comment used a broad brush to link this criminal and this crime to the 2nd Amendment and “Freedom” as you put it. “The pictures are what freedom looks like.” Really? Your comment was nothing more than a dog whistle to the anti-gun crowd and an attempt to sway public opinon away from supporting the 2nd Amendment. In plain English you were saying, “See folks?…this is what happens when you people have guns and that stupid 2nd Amendment. C’mon…no one really needs guns.” No, I didn’t miss your point. You were quite clear. You are right about one thing though should anything like Baltimore happen here, we don’t need to protect our families, person, or property…just let it burn.
Snowmelt:
Hunting out of season is a Class D crime subject to mandatory minimums of 3 days in jail and $1,000 fine (Title 12: s.11201). Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t see where you lose your guns or right to possess them.
There’s a clear link here between the second amendment and this crime. It was committed with a firearm. Your strawman is reading way too much into what I wrote. As for the dog whistles, how many times do I have to say that I’m not against people owning firearms before you realize that I’m only calling for this poacher to lose his gun rights? I own several guns. People like this do a disservice to responsible gun owners. They should lose their rights for a time.
Yes, Seamus, I do agree with you on that. A poacher that was caught on a family members land a few years ago had the firearms that were on their person confiscated.
I believe in freedom, but responsibility goes along with it.
Unbelievable..this is the lowest of the low. Whoever did this, get a life!!
To all commenting about the second amendment, this gives oneself the right to keep and bear arms. This does not give you the right to hunt with a firearm, hunting is a PRIVELAGE not a RIGHT.
Swipes at the second amendment, come on folks give me a break. This is not a law abiding citizen nor a hunting crime. This person is a criminal who does not care about amendments or laws and would still get his hands on a gun if he so desired, he might already be a felon who can not posses a firearm. Most who believe in the second amendment and do carry are law abiding citizens who live and work amongst all of us, some of them you would never guess did.