Sunday, 01/11/04
By CHARLES SEARCY
For The Tennessean
One hunter has been charged with the illegal killing of an
elk and another is being sought in the death of one of the first
Tennessee-born elk.
According to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Troy
Neal of Morgan County has been charged with killing a 1,000-pound bull that
had been released in 2001.
Neal, 69, was charged after the Dec. 27 incident near the
Catoosa Wildlife Management Area. Law enforcement officer Dale Day of the
TWRA said Neal called and said he had shot the elk.
''Mr. Neal has indicated he thought he was shooting at a
white tail deer on the private farm where he was hunting,'' Day said.
''This is a real loss to the project, but there is an
upside to the event,'' said Steve Bennett, the state's elk biologist. ''The
elk was transported to
the University of Tennessee where tests will be run that
will give us very valuable information about the health of the overall
herd.''
Neal is scheduled to appear in Cumberland County General
Sessions Court on Jan. 22 and faces a maximum fine of $2,500 and a minimum
of $1,000 in restitution for the cost of the animal.
Meanwhile, a reward of up to $6,000 is being offered for
information that leads to the arrest and conviction in the killing of a
1½-year-old bull that was found by a deer hunter Dec. 26 in the Ash Log
Mountain section of Sundquist WMA in Campbell County.
The bull weighed 350 pounds.
''This elk had no collar or ear tag,'' Bennett said.
''Since it was not tagged, it was not one that we released, but instead was
born here in Tennessee in the spring of 2002.''
Anyone with information should call the TWRA Region IV
Stop Poaching hotline at 1-800-831-1174 or Brian Ripley, TWRA law
enforcement supervisor, at 1-800-332-0900, ext. 122.
Early tourney: The Team Nashville Bassmasters are gearing
up for the 14th annual Frost Bite Open.
© Copyright 2002 The Tennessean
