2002 MN wolf-slayer convicted

[Emily]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/21481384.html
Minnesota hunter faces prison for killing wolf

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: June 25, 2008 - 1:42 PM
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Jail isnt the right thing

Dont waste anymore tax money by sending him to jail, say he cant hunt for 20 years fine him 25,000 or what ever it is then be done with it! … read more And seriously what was this guy thinking yeah its wrong to shoot something that is under federal protection why would you mouth of about it?

A Minnesota hunter faces imprisonment for illegally shooting and killing a gray wolf in Lake County in 2002.

Steven A. Taylor, 46, of Zimmerman, was found guilty last week in a bench trial before U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond Erickson in Duluth.

Taylor killed the wolf, a federally protected species at the time, near Isabella Township in northern Minnesota during a hunting trip in November 2002.

"People tend to think that they can get away with killing endangered or threatened wildlife, particularly in remote areas where there are few witnesses," said Patrick Lund, resident agent in charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's St. Paul office.

Court testimony indicated that Taylor and his group hunted in that area near Shamrock Lake on Nov. 20-23, 2002. Witnesses testified that they heard two shots and asked Taylor whether he got any deer. Taylor replied that he shot two wolves.

When the species was first listed as endangered in the 1970s, only a few hundred wolves remained in Minnesota. Recovery efforts have increased its population and helped assure its survival.

Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the gray wolf in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, commonly known as the timber wolf, had been removed from America's list of wildlife species threatened or endangered with extinction.

Taylor faces a potential maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and a $25,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 3.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

[chilcotin hillbilly]

Can hardly blame the guy. Here you shoot on sight. BC, last year allowed a no bag limit on wolves, trying to get a handle on the problem. Next time this guy should keep his mouth shut.

[Budd Denny]