When I worked for Fish & Wildlife, we had a guy get busted for poaching wolves. The ole "S-S-S" but he didn't shovel or shut-up. His daughter in law tried to ship a wolf hide to a Canadian taxidermist. According to out wolf biologist, she took the package to Fed-Ex (Located in a K-Mart) and the package started leaking blood. WaSPs were called and the blood tested as non-human. State F & W followed and determined it was canine and "likely wolf". Federal LEOs came in and determined it was from a female wolf in the Lookout Mountain Pack (there was only one female in that pack). A search disclosed photos on his computer of a male wolf. He SAID it was injured in a leg hold trap
, and he merely put it out of its misery. The pictures (and the pelt) showed no damage. Other pelts and mounts showed numerous furbearers, deer, and elk taken out of season (i.e. velvet on the elk). He plead out.
I was in W.VA for a course in Scientific Writing and had no cell reception. On the way home, I called from National Airport to talk to my wife. She told me the wolf bio had called and said to tell me the plea bargain had been thrown out! I was furious!! Then she told me that the reason it was thrown out was that the judge thought it was too lenient: The sentence was $100K for the father, $25K for son, loss of all firearms, loss of truck(s), loss of computers, loss of mounts and pelts and lifetime ban. WA is part of the Western States Alliance and National coalition.
Interestingly, there had been no reports of cattle predation by wolves in that area!
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