Moose hit by car, throat slashed
Mullan, ID (US)Incident Date: Monday, Feb 18, 2008
County: Shoshone
Disposition: State Citation
Abuser names unreleased
An antlerless bull moose was intentionally rammed into by a car early Monday morning. It then lived through hours of agony after its throat was slashed in a failed attempt to "put its out of its misery."
Josh Stanley, Wallace district conservation officer with Fish and Game, said a vehicle with a driver and two passengers struck the moose sometime around 3 a.m. Monday on Mill Road in Mullan, leaving the animal heavily injured but still mobile. Stanley said the animal was bleeding from the mouth and rectum with a bad fracture to the leg.
Idaho Fish and Game put the moose down in a resident's driveway, where it laid for over six hours before crews arrived.
According to statements taken by the three men involved -- ages 18, 20 and 22 -- they inspected the animal and left the site to drop off one of the passengers. Statements described that upon returning the two attempted to put the large animal "out of its misery" by slitting its throat but were unsuccessful.
Names will not be released until a Fish and Game report is issued, according to Stanley, which he expects to happen Monday.
After fleeing the site again with no attempt to contact authorities, a neighbor saw the activities out a window and called the police. The moose was found at 9 a.m. Monday, was put down and has been processed for distribution to the food bank.
Phone calls from two other neighborhood witnesses named one of the passengers in the vehicle who was brought in for questioning by Stanley. The officer said the two other names were given in questioning and were brought in for interviewing.
Questioning began with the first passenger Monday and continued with the two others identified throughout the remainder of the week. Stanley said after lengthy questioning periods all three voluntarily wrote their statements.
"After taking the three statements I found that there were some intentions to hit the moose," Stanley said. "This was not a typical vehicle versus animal accident. Through further investigation of the statements I was able to determine which individual was the most responsible behind the act."
Although no charges have been filed, Stanley said that Fish and Game plans to file charges through the county prosecutor's office for at least one individual for "unlawful taking of a moose," a civil penalty fee that amounts to $10,000 making it a felony in Idaho. Stanley explained that any penalty over $1,000 is determined a felony in the state and that additional jail time is a possibility.
"When you don't immediately contact the authorities or come forward it appears that you've done something wrong that you're trying to cover up and that seems to be the case here," Stanley said.
Stanley added that one passenger admitted to drinking the night of the incident while the driver and other passenger swore to being substance-free at the time. Stanley added, "But who knows?"
Shoshone County Sheriff Chuck Reynalds responded to the moose incident as well calling it "horrific" and "uncalled for."
Stanley wanted to remind drivers that animals such as moose are down at lower elevations this time of year because of the heavy snowfall and to give the animals extra space and time to cross roadways.
"It's been a rough winter for them already." References |
