Black Lab sniffs out pheasant hunters

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   Black Lab sniffs out pre-season pheasant hunters

Her name is Katie, not McGruff, but the black Labrador’s nose for birds 

helped bust a group of Oklahoma hunters who got a jump-start on this 

fall’s pheasant season.

The incident occurred in late September in Sheridan County, when Katie’s 

owner, a Fish, Wildlife & Parks employee, let her out of his vehicle along a 

county road near Antelope. Katie immediately dashed beneath a bridge, 

and when she refused to come to his call, the FWP employee went to 

retrieve her. He found Katie engrossed in the contents of a large garbage 

bag that had been stashed under the bridge. Inside, the employee found 

more than a dozen recently killed rooster pheasants, which raised his 

suspicions since the October pheasant opener was still a week distant.

The employee monitored the bridge from a distance and at twilight 

witnessed a vehicle stop and retrieve the contraband birds. The following 

day FWP game wardens searched a hotel room in Plentywood, where they 

confiscated 14 roosters, interviewed the suspect hunters and issued 

several citations. The case was settled this month in Sheridan County 

Justice Court.

The four hunters are all from Cushing, Oklahoma. Kevin and Jerry 

Holderread, Sean Jensen and Fred Cussner each will lose hunting 

privileges for a year and forfeited about $600 apiece. They were charged 

with illegal possession of wildlife and hunting out of season and were 

issued written warnings for shooting from a road, hunting without 

landowner permission and failure to leave evidence of sex and species 

naturally attached to the birds.

“It was just a senseless act that showed total disregard for the animals 

and fair chase,” says Ezra Schwalm, a FWP game warden in training who 

will be posted in Sheridan County early next year. Schwalm, who led the 

investigation, said the hunters admitted killing the birds and said they 

knew the pheasant season was closed.

While the Oklahoma men will have to sit out the balance of the pheasant 

season, Katie is earning her own type of reward, helping her owner to 

consistent limits of well-deserved roosters. This year’s pheasant season 

ends Jan. 1, 2006.

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TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Administrator aka The Gipper Joined: 10 June 2003 Location: Chinook Montana Status: Offline Points: 14753	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Black Lab sniffs out pheasant hunters Posted: 15 November 2005 at 08:01
	Black Lab sniffs out pre-season pheasant hunters Her name is Katie, not McGruff, but the black Labrador’s nose for birds helped bust a group of Oklahoma hunters who got a jump-start on this fall’s pheasant season. The incident occurred in late September in Sheridan County, when Katie’s owner, a Fish, Wildlife & Parks employee, let her out of his vehicle along a county road near Antelope. Katie immediately dashed beneath a bridge, and when she refused to come to his call, the FWP employee went to retrieve her. He found Katie engrossed in the contents of a large garbage bag that had been stashed under the bridge. Inside, the employee found more than a dozen recently killed rooster pheasants, which raised his suspicions since the October pheasant opener was still a week distant. The employee monitored the bridge from a distance and at twilight witnessed a vehicle stop and retrieve the contraband birds. The following day FWP game wardens searched a hotel room in Plentywood, where they confiscated 14 roosters, interviewed the suspect hunters and issued several citations. The case was settled this month in Sheridan County Justice Court. The four hunters are all from Cushing, Oklahoma. Kevin and Jerry Holderread, Sean Jensen and Fred Cussner each will lose hunting privileges for a year and forfeited about $600 apiece. They were charged with illegal possession of wildlife and hunting out of season and were issued written warnings for shooting from a road, hunting without landowner permission and failure to leave evidence of sex and species naturally attached to the birds. “It was just a senseless act that showed total disregard for the animals and fair chase,” says Ezra Schwalm, a FWP game warden in training who will be posted in Sheridan County early next year. Schwalm, who led the investigation, said the hunters admitted killing the birds and said they knew the pheasant season was closed. While the Oklahoma men will have to sit out the balance of the pheasant season, Katie is earning her own type of reward, helping her owner to consistent limits of well-deserved roosters. This year’s pheasant season ends Jan. 1, 2006.
	TasunkaWitko - Chinook, Montana Helfen, Wehren, Heilen Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen