Animal Law
$10K Reward Offered in Sheep Slaying
Posted Nov 3, 2009, 06:32 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Three energy companies in Colorado have banded together to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of a poacher responsible for killing of a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep last week near DeBeque.
The poacher responsible for the senseless slaying of the quarter-horn ram didn't even take the meat of the dead animal, reports the Denver Post.
"This is the worst kind of poaching case," Albert Romero of the Colorado Division of Wildlife tells the newspaper. "It appears that someone shot and killed the animal for no reason at all."
Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are Colorado's official state animal, and the "approachable" ram was frequently seen and photographed by local energy workers, the newspaper notes.
If the poacher is identified and criminally convicted, he or she could face penalties of as much as five years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
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