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MADISON -- Three Birchwood area men will face criminal and civil charges in three northern Wisconsin counties for allegedly "thrill" killing seven deer and shooting at seven others in a case that highlights the importance of citizen tips and cooperation among law enforcement agencies, Wisconsin conservation wardens said.
"These men were allegedly shining and shooting for a month in Rusk and Barron counties and nobody turned them in," said Jeremy Peery, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conservation warden stationed at Bruce in Rusk County. "We rely on citizens who see violations or very suspicious behavior to note it and call it into the local conservation warden, local sheriff’s department, or the DNR hotline, 1-800-TIP-WDNR. With the limited number of wardens, we simply can’t always be where the violations are occurring. With the public’s help, we can make a difference."
The investigation began in late October when a Birchwood police officer stopped a car carrying a passenger suspected of committing a burglary. The passenger subsequently implicated two other men in connection with alleged natural resources violations, and the officer passed this information on to DNR conservation wardens who started investigating.
The wardens, Chris Wunrow, Jeremy Peery and Russ Fell, found five deer carcasses in fields in Barron, Rusk and Sawyer counties. The racks had been removed from two of the deer, but otherwise, the deer were untouched, some left in the same place where they were shot and others dragged out of sight, Peery said.
The men told wardens they had shot two other deer, and had shot at seven other deer but didn’t know if they had killed them. Wardens did not find any other carcasses. "There was no real motivation behind the shooting," Peery said.
The three men will face possible criminal and civil charges in the three counties. Wardens will be meeting Tuesday to form the recommendations they’ll give the district attorneys.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Zeug, regional warden (715) 635-4151; Mike Rindfleisch (715) 762-4684
Uploaded: 11/10/1999
Uploaded: 11/10/1999