Illegal elk shipment stopped in SWMO
Posted: November 29th, 2007, 3:51 pm
Missouri Department of Conservation announces details of intercepted elk transport bound for Barry County
Missouri conservation agents based in Southwest Missouri intercepted an uncertified interstate shipment of elk this fall, the Missouri Department of Conservation announced today.
Adam Bracken, conservation agent in Jasper County, said he was contacted by Oklahoma wildlife officials who initially learned of the shipment. He brought in Travis McLain, conservation agent in Barry County, after learning about the shipment on Sept. 26.
The Oklahoma officer informed the two conservation agents that he had stopped three stock trailers headed for a game farm in Missouri. The trailers contained five adult bull elk, three young elk bulls and two elk cows.
Bracken and McLain pulled over the trailers near Fairview on U.S. Highway 60.
?They didn?t have any of the paperwork or disease certification they needed to import them into Missouri,? Bracken said.
One of the drivers said the animals were part of a shipment of 32 elk to be delivered to a big game farm near Ridgeley, which is close to Wheaton. He also allegedly told the agents that he believed that he did not need certification since the animals would be used in what the Missouri Department of Conservation calls ?canned hunts.?
The next day the Missouri and Oklahoma departments of agriculture looked into the matter and learned that the shippers did not have the required import permits or health papers.
Based on this information, Missouri agriculture officials would not allow the elk to remain in Missouri. Oklahoma officials would not permit them to be brought back to Oklahoma. The elk?s owners decided to slaughter the animals, according to a statement from MDC.
James Greg Baker, 41, of Springdale, Ark., was the driver of one of the trucks bringing the elk to Missouri. He also is the permit holder for Hidden Spring Big Game Farm, where the animals were headed.
McLain issued Baker a citation for illegally importing wildlife into Missouri. Baker pleaded guilty in Barry County and paid a $175 fine, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
State officials said the concern when domestic or wild animals are imported into Missouri is disease, particularly chronic wasting disease in the deer population.
Missouri conservation agents based in Southwest Missouri intercepted an uncertified interstate shipment of elk this fall, the Missouri Department of Conservation announced today.
Adam Bracken, conservation agent in Jasper County, said he was contacted by Oklahoma wildlife officials who initially learned of the shipment. He brought in Travis McLain, conservation agent in Barry County, after learning about the shipment on Sept. 26.
The Oklahoma officer informed the two conservation agents that he had stopped three stock trailers headed for a game farm in Missouri. The trailers contained five adult bull elk, three young elk bulls and two elk cows.
Bracken and McLain pulled over the trailers near Fairview on U.S. Highway 60.
?They didn?t have any of the paperwork or disease certification they needed to import them into Missouri,? Bracken said.
One of the drivers said the animals were part of a shipment of 32 elk to be delivered to a big game farm near Ridgeley, which is close to Wheaton. He also allegedly told the agents that he believed that he did not need certification since the animals would be used in what the Missouri Department of Conservation calls ?canned hunts.?
The next day the Missouri and Oklahoma departments of agriculture looked into the matter and learned that the shippers did not have the required import permits or health papers.
Based on this information, Missouri agriculture officials would not allow the elk to remain in Missouri. Oklahoma officials would not permit them to be brought back to Oklahoma. The elk?s owners decided to slaughter the animals, according to a statement from MDC.
James Greg Baker, 41, of Springdale, Ark., was the driver of one of the trucks bringing the elk to Missouri. He also is the permit holder for Hidden Spring Big Game Farm, where the animals were headed.
McLain issued Baker a citation for illegally importing wildlife into Missouri. Baker pleaded guilty in Barry County and paid a $175 fine, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
State officials said the concern when domestic or wild animals are imported into Missouri is disease, particularly chronic wasting disease in the deer population.
