Mar 21, 2008 5:51 am US/Mountain
Sheriff: Dozens Of Bison Killed In Park County
GUFFEY, Colo. (AP/CBS4) ―
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Sheriff Fred Wegener on Thursday
CBS
The Park County sheriff says hunters shot and killed about 30 bison and left the carcasses strewn across a southern Colorado ranch.
Sheriff Fred Wegener said Thursday that deputies are investigating to see whether the shootings were legal.
"Exactly why were they at that ranch?" he asked. "Who gave permission? What that whole scenario was? We don't know yet."
Wegener said about a dozen hunters told investigators they had permission to kill the animals, and some had taken bison meat.
He said deputies were trying to reach the landowner to verify the claim and to find out who owned the bison. The hunters' relationship to the landowner was unclear.
Wegener said the hunters were released after questioning. He declined to identify them or the landowner.
The hunters are reportedly from Colorado Springs.
The bison were killed about 60 miles southwest of Denver between Guffey and Hartsel near Eleven Mile Reservoir. Authorities said a 911 caller reported Wednesday that someone was gunning down the animals, but Wegener said it appears they were shot over several days.
"You don't just drop an animal and let it lay out there," said Dave Carter, Executive Director of the National Bison Association. "That's just incomprehensible."
Carter said bison ranchers have allowed hunts in the past. He said they are typically small scale, prompt and require strict sanitary conditions.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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