While investigating a poaching case against a Utah hunting guide, wildlife officials found a video on his cellphone showing him shooting a compound bow at cattle.
In the video, one of the cows jumps after he releases an arrow, as if it might have been struck. The condition of the cattle remains “unknown,” Chase Pili, captain of administrative services for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), told Cowboy State Daily.
Pili said he wasn’t sure when the video — which was released Friday by the DWR — was taken, but charges were filed in the case in February.
DWR didn’t release the name of the man, who was convicted of attempted destruction of wildlife.
The case was filed in the 6th District Court of Garfield County, Utah. The clerk of court could not be reached for comment.
The man was under investigation for allegedly poaching a deer, DWR reported. Investigators executed a search warrant on his cellphone and discovered a video of him shooting at cattle.
“In addition to significant legal fees, the suspect now faces a long-term suspension of both his hunting and guiding licenses,” the agency says.
‘It’s Appalling’
The video depicts next-level unethical behavior, archery hunter Steve Martin of Rock Springs told Cowboy State Daily.
“It’s appalling, and as a bowhunter, it’s even worse,” said Martin, who represents Bowhunters of Wyoming. “The public will think we’re just out there shooting arrows at everything and that’s not good."
Martin said he’s unaware of any such incidents happening in Wyoming.
“My hope is that would never happen in Wyoming, because that sort of outfitter would never get a license in Wyoming,” he said.
‘I Have Seen Some Of It’
Mark Eisele, a Cheyenne-area rancher and former president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said cattle abuse is rare in Wyoming.
“I have seen some of it,” he said. “It’s been a little better more recently.”
Most of the cases he’s aware of didn’t seem to involve hunters; rather, they involved people who took their opposition to cattle grazing on public land to extremes.
“At the height of it, when activists were raising a fuss, we had cattle shot alongside the road,” he said. “We’ve had cases where people rammed into cattle with their vehicles and broke the cattle’s legs."
There were also instances of vandalism, such as fences being cut or holes shot in water tanks, Eisele said, adding that things have calmed down considerably.
“I think some of the activists feel that maybe cattle on public lands are a good thing,” he said.
‘Disregard For Life’
Eisele said that most hunters are well-behaved.
“They almost always ask for permission for access, and we almost always grant it,” he said.
The behavior depicted in the video is an anomaly, Eisele added.
“Some people do it because they want to watch something die,” he said. “That just blatant. That’s just disregard for property and disregard for life.”
Careless Shooting
Evanston-area rancher Vance Broadbent told Cowboy State Daily that he hasn’t had problems with his cattle being shot.
“I haven’t experienced anything like that here,” Broadbent said. "We coordinate with an outfitter, so hunters on our property have a guide with them and they are monitored closely."
Shooting cattle is a rarity in Wyoming, Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, told Cowboy State Daily.
“We do get occasional reports of it,” he said.
“It’s not so much formal hunters as it is people out target practicing and maybe hitting a cow by being careless,” Magagna said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
