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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Friday, May 15, 2020:
Veteran charged in hunting accident that killed 11-year-old Alabama boy
A veteran has been charged in connection to a deadly hunting accident that killed an 11-year-old boy.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office announced a reckless manslaughter warrant against Joshua Stewart Burks, 35. He was charged in the death of Troy Ellis, of Trussville. The boy’s father, Obed Ellis, is a football coach at Mortimer Jordan High School and was also injured in the shooting.
Father, son, Burks and another man began turkey hunting at daylight Friday on Ellis’ hunting land off Cedar Mountain Road in North Clay. The hunt was organized by a group that sponsors hunts for wounded veterans and Ellis was acting as a guide.
Burks, an amputee, is U.S. Marine Corps veteran and a middle school teacher in Mobile County. He surrendered to the Jefferson County Jail on $15,000 bond.
Prince Harry flogs handmade hunting rifles worth £50,000 after giving up hunting to please Meghan
Prince Harry has sold his handmade hunting rifles to another game hunter for £50,000, or slightly over $60,000. He did it out of deference to wife, Meghan Markle, who is a conservationist and animal-lover, sources say. Harry has not hunted since he went on a wild boar hunting trip to Germany when they two were engaged in 2017.
A fellow hunter bought the pair of prized Purdey firearms, thought to be worth at least £50,000, in a private deal.
Harry learnt to shoot as a child and once killed a one-ton buffalo. But Meghan is opposed to hunting and pals hinted the Duke of Sussex would give up to appease her.
Harry, 35, was also absent from the recent shoots at Balmoral and Sandringham. He sold his two British-made guns five months ago — before he and Meghan, 38, quit the UK for a new life in North America.
Pa. man sentenced to probation in deer torture case captured in viral video
A Pennsylvania man and a teen seen kicking and abusing a deer in a viral video in November last year has pleaded guilty to multiple charges in connection with the incident. Authorities previously charged Alexander Brock Smith, 18, with two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and two felony counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated cruelty after the incident in late 2019.
Smith was sentenced to two years of probation, 200 hours of community service and must be available to the game commission to speak at hunting safety courses, schools and youth groups. Smith’s hunting license was also revoked for 15 years.
The Nov. 30 incident, which occurred near Brookeville, Pennsylvania, was recorded on video that later surfaced on social media, sparking nationwide outrage.
During interviews with Smith and his alleged accomplice, investigators learned the two were hunting together in an enclosed tree stand when the younger of the two boys shot and wounded a buck before missing the follow-up shot.
The deer was immobilized, and the teens sent a Snapchat video which reportedly showed them laughing as they kicked the wounded animal and grabbed it by the antlers.
Colorado making more than 200,000 acres available for hunting this fall
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission has expanded the amount of state trust land open for public access hunting this fall by more than a third with the addition of 210,000 acres. The expansion brings the total enrolled acres to 777,000 in a multi-year effort to reach a million acres.
The purpose of CPW’s Public Access Program is to provide limited seasonal hunting and angling opportunities on Colorado trust land through a lease agreement between CPW and the State Land Board. The commission approved the addition in a virtual meeting on May 7.
According to a CPW news release, 3 million acres of land have been held in trust since Colorado statehood in 1876 with the purpose of funding public schools. The land board derives revenue from state trust lands by leasing them for hunting, recreation, agriculture, oil and gas extraction and renewable energy. Colorado public schools have received $1.7 billion from those leases since 2008.
Five moose shot and killed in North Dakota; reward offered for information on poaching
A $2,000 reward is being offered for information on a moose poaching incident that happened a few weeks ago in north central North Dakota.
The Game and Fish Department said five adult moose were shot and killed about six miles southwest of Dunseith. Officials said the poaching happened between April 25 and April 30.
Three cows and two bulls were killed. One of those cows was pregnant with triplets, and “two calves were cut out of her,” according to Game and Fish officials.
The organization Report All Poachers is offering $2,000 for information that leads to a conviction.
May Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting to be held online
Amid ongoing public health concerns, the May meeting of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission scheduled for May 20-21 will be streamed virtually on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s website. Planned agenda items remain unaltered and public comment will still be accepted until May 20.
The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. CST on both Wednesday and Thursday. Those interested in listening to the live broadcast will need access to either a computer or cell phone with a reliable Internet connection capable of streaming audio.
The planned briefings and action items include the statewide proclamations for recreational and commercial saltwater and freshwater fishing, hunting and migratory game bird regulation recommendations, containment and surveillance zone boundaries associated with chronic wasting disease detection, oyster mariculture rules, land transactions and local park grant announcements, just to name a few. The agenda for Wednesday and Thursday’s meeting can be found on the TPWD website.
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