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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Thursday, February 6, 2020:
911 call in fatal hunting accident: ‘I thought it was a deer’ A newly released 911 call from a fatal New Year’s Day hunting accident in South Carolina reveals the shooter thought he shot a deer. The Department of Natural Resources says 30-year old Kim Drawdy and his 9-year old daughter Lauren Drawdy were killed in the accidental shooting on Jan. 1. DNR says the Drawdys were hunting with two other people. The hunter who shot the Drawdys called 911.
Did coyote hunters go too far using dogs? Video raises questions about what is legal: FOX 2 obtained a home video that authorities called a case of coyote hunters going too far. The video shows the practice of using dogs to hunt, maul, and ultimately kill coyotes. It’s raising questions about what is and what should be legal. It happened Saturday morning, near Raymond, Illinois, about 70 miles northeast of St. Louis. A property owner took the video of three dogs attacking a coyote on his property. The dogs were relentless. When the dogs’ handlers arrived, the property owner made clear neither they nor the dogs were welcome. “Get out right now bud, you’re done. You’re done. Get out. Get off of my property,” the man yells on the video. The handlers left. The video is drawing the attention of lawmakers in Springfield.
‘Dream hunt’ with Donald Trump Jr. for trophy animals starts bidding at $10,000: A “dream hunt” with Donald Trump Jr. is up for grabs as part of a hunting organization’s annual convention, igniting controversy from animal rights groups. Safari Club International is auctioning off a week-long trophy hunt with President Donald Trump’s son through Alaska as part of its annual convention in Reno, Nevada, taking place through Saturday. Trump Jr. is the event’s keynote speaker. The auctioned hunt with Trump Jr. would target black-tailed deer and sea ducks.
Video captures a coyote and a badger hunting together under cover of night: Newly released video shows a unique pair of friends — a coyote and a badger — hunting together in the middle of the night in California. Researchers with the nonprofit Peninsula Open Space Trust were studying how animals travel at night when they came across the unusual encounter in the Coyote Valley near San Jose. The researchers set up 50-remote sensor cameras and one of them caught the badger and coyote using a culvert to travel underneath a highway near the Southern Santa Cruz Mountains, according to Open Space Trust. As the animals are about to walk through it, the coyote suddenly stops, hops and wags its tail excitedly as the badger slowly catches up. It’s the first time this behavior has been caught on camera in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Idaho man banned from hunting in Alaska for guiding illegal bear, moose hunts: A Nampa man who pleaded guilty to illegally guiding bear and moose hunts in Alaska was ordered to pay more than $20,000 and never to hunt in the state again. Paul Silvis, 52, was sentenced to six months house arrest and 100 hours of community service Jan. 22, according to federal court records. Once the half-year period is over, Silvis will be on supervised release for five years. Court records reveal Silvis also must publish a statement in the next issue of “The Alaskan Hunter Association Magazine,” detailing his crimes.
NOAA announces final rule to implement state management of private angling for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico: NOAA Fisheries announces implementation of a program to allow the Gulf of Mexico states (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas) some management authority for recreational fishing of red snapper by private anglers in federal waters of the Gulf. Each Gulf state has the option to establish a maximum size limit while Florida, Alabama and Texas may request closure of areas of federal waters adjacent to state waters.
Annual Texas abandoned crab trap removal dates set for 2020: Each February for 18 years, countless volunteers spend 10 days on the water along the Texas coastline searching the bays for abandoned crab traps left to foul shrimpers’ nets, snag anglers’ lines, “ghost fish,” and create unsightly views. To date, they’ve hauled off more than 36,000 of these derelict traps. Between Feb. 21 through March 1, Texas coastal waters will be closed to crabbing with wire mesh crab traps to facilitate the annual volunteer crab trap cleanup. Any traps left in bays — including traps tied to docks — will be assumed abandoned and considered “litter” under state law. This allows volunteers to legally remove any crab traps they find.
New firearm designs prompt Missouri to rewrite definition of hunting ‘handgun’ If they’re good enough shots, Missouri hunters can legally use handguns to take deer, including during the “alternative methods” season, when rifles and shotguns are not allowed. But as gun manufacturers create new weapons, like shortened versions of AR-15-style rifles, the Missouri Department of Conservation decided it needed to update its definition of what a “handgun” actually is. With large-capacity removable magazines, Velcro forearm stabilizers and black metal barrel forearms, these AR pistols aren’t your granddad’s hunting revolver.
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