Local men face illegal trapping/sale charges
By Evan Carden SA Editor
Four Washington County residents and one Clarke County resident face
charges for illegally trapping and selling live coyotes and foxes,
following the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources'
(ADCNR) participation in "Operation Foxote."
According to a ADCNR press release, Sean Atchison, Charles Parnell,
Charlie Howard and Charles Busby, all residents of Washington County,
and Calvin Wright of Clarke County, were among 18 people across the
state to be charged, Nov. 10, with the illegal trade, importation and
possession of live foxes, coyotes and other wildlife. Statewide, 25
coyotes, 55 foxes, two bobcats, 33 cardinals and a moonshine still were
seized.
All five men face charges of illegal possession of live game animals.
Atchison is charged with one count, Parnell with eight counts, Busby
with four counts, Howard with one count and Wright with five counts.
Howard also faces a charge of illegal sale/purchase of live game
animals. Wright faces additional charges of four counts of illegal
sale/purchase of game animals, two counts of possession of game animals
in closed season and one count of possession of protected wild birds.
More arrests were made in Washington County than in any other of the
other 14 counties where officers from the Alabama Wildlife and
Freshwater Fisheries Division of the ADCNR served arrest warrants.
Due to the potential disease and parasite risks posed by the
translocation of live wild-caught foxes and coyotes, Alabama prohibited
the importation of foxes and coyotes from outside the state in 1994.
Alabama law also prohibits the possession and sale of live furbearers
such as fox and coyote.
In 1993, coyotes imported from Texas, were linked to the introduction
of the Texas strain of rabies into Covington County. Other diseases of
concern are distemper and a tapeworm that can infect foxes, coyotes and
humans.
A confirmed rabid fox was recently captured and killed in Jackson.
The animal had attacked two dogs before being subdued by the city's
animal control officer.
