30 December 2003
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency plans to press
charges against a hunter who says he accidentally shot and killed an elk.
It happened Saturday afternoon in Cumberland County.
The thousand-pound bull was introduced into the herd in
February of 2002.
TWRA has been in the process of re-introducing elk into
the area for the past four years.
Hunting elk is illegal and those who do, face up to
35-hundred dollars in fines.
"He was extremely upset," says Dan Hicks of TWRA referring
to the hunter. "I really felt sorry for the guy. He's 70 years old
and his eyesight's failing him and it was late in the afternoon when
light was
getting low and the elk probably only had the top portion of the head
and antlers exposed to him so he was limited as far as visibility in
identifying
the animal."
The elk will be sent to the University of Tennessee's vet
school for testing.
Results will help the TWRA get an idea of how healthy the
overall herd is.
There are an estimated 220 to 240 elk in the mountains of
East Tennessee.
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