Moose Poacher Sent to Jail, Loses Hunting License

On March 12, 2008, Twin Falls resident Douglas A. Faulkner pleaded guilty to illegally killing a moose and leaving it to waste on the Rudeen Ranch Mitigation Project south of American Falls.

The incident took place on November 2007 when Faulkner and his two sons shot a calf moose along Cold Creek Road and left it to waste. Faulkner, who was recently granted tribal hunting rights by the Bannock Shoshone Tribe, told Magistrate Judge Mark Bebee that he was hunting deer.

Faulkner admitted that his nonresident status in the tribe allowed him to hunt only within the boundaries of the reservation. He now understands that the Rudeen Ranch Mitigation property is not part of the reservation, and he should have taken more time to understand where he was hunting. Faulkner said that at the time he shot the moose it was getting dark, the animal was 200 yards away and he mistook it for a deer.

He said he looked for the animal but couldn't find it. An investigation show the moose was 70 yards from the road and the empty brass from Faulkner's rifle. Prosecuting Attorney Paul Laggis said that this was the most blatant disregard for our wildlife resource he has seen in his time as Power County prosecutor.

As part of his sentence, Faulkner paid $2,191 in fines and restitution, his rifle to sold by Idaho Fish and Game, spent 60 days in the Power County Jail; his hunting privileges were suspended for life.

By calling the Citizens Against Poaching hotline 1-800-632-5999 with detailed information of a wildlife crime, concerned citizens can help Fish and Game solve and discourage wildlife crimes. Rewards are available and callers can remain anonymous.