https://www.adn.com/alaska-new...0-sentenced-to-jail/


An Alaska man who poached three moose and left most of the meat to rot has been sentenced to nine months in jail and fined more than $100,000.

Rusty Counts, 39, of Anchor Point, shot the moose near the town over two weeks in September. He pleaded guilty Nov. 6 to 21 misdemeanor wildlife counts and violations, including wanton waste, exceeding bag limits and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Hunting regulations near the Kenai Peninsula community require moose to have antlers measuring 50 inches across to be harvested. None of the three moose had the required spread, said Aaron Peterson, an assistant attorney general who prosecuted the case.

"The working theory is that he realized they were sublegal and decided not to stick around to salvage the meat," Peterson said Monday. He called the case one of the most egregious poaching events ever seen by Alaska state wildlife troopers.

Alaska officials take seriously the harvesting of moose and salvaging of meat, Alaska Department of Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh said.

A bull moose can weigh up to 1,600 pounds and feed a family for months with meat free of chemicals and hormones. A successful hunt is also a source of pride, Marsh said.

"It's a really important part of our culture and tradition, and people take that seriously," he said.

The case began Sept. 2 with a tip to wildlife troopers that a sublegal moose with antlers of about 45 inches was shot and abandoned. Counts was the suspected shooter, witnesses said.

A second tip came in Sept. 14. A teacher reported a second dead moose shot the day before. The moose had an antler spread of just 25 inches, half the legal requirement. The teacher recognized one of the hunters, a former student, with an adult.

Troopers interviewed the boy, who is Counts' nephew. He confirmed that his uncle had shot the two moose plus a third with a 26-inch antler spread on Sept. 7 when he was not with his uncle. Both hunters left their rifles in the woods Sept. 13 to avoid being caught, the boy said.

Troopers interviewed Counts, and he admitted shooting the three moose.

Jeff Selinger, a Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist in Soldotna, said the 50-inch antler requirement extends the hunting season and protects younger mature moose, ensuring that they will be around for future breeding.

Hunters can educate themselves on determining a legal moose by reading regulations and watching department videos. If there's doubt, Sellinger recommends passing up the shot.

"You're going to pass up some legal moose doing that, but you're not going to shoot a sublegal moose," he said.

Peterson backed the hefty penalties for Counts as a deterrent to others. If Counts had salvaged meat from the first moose, he likely would have been penalized for a single hunting violation.

"That meat goes to shelters, food banks. It goes to people who need it," Peterson said. "Instead, we have three bull moose that fully go to waste."

Counts was fined $97,650 and ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution. He forfeited his rifle and an all-terrain vehicle and was sentenced to 270 days in jail.

“If you do the right thing in the field, this kind of thing doesn’t happen. But if you poach and leave moose, these are the appropriate sanctions, in the state’s view,” Peterson said.

Just how and how long will it take them
to collect that amount?

George

Hey George. they might never collect it, but will try and six months in the pokey going to get their attention. And the state can go after his check from work (if he does),for as long as he works.

I want to know more about these chemicals and hormones in meat. Keep it in your lane Mr. Marsh.

quote:

Originally posted by model7LSS:
I want to know more about these chemicals and hormones in meat. Keep it in your lane Mr. Marsh.

That would be your typical feed lot beef approved by the gbmnt packaged in cellophane sold at an overinflated price at your local supermarket

Incorrect, but nice try. Do you realize the same hormonal cycle occurs in all of us? What chemicals are injected into them? What hormones? I actually know of a few that are used since I’m a veterinarian, but I’m not gonna do your homework for you.

I think it’s the lowest thing on this planet to wantonly take an animal. But don’t use it as a political agenda stepping stone.

quote:

Originally posted by model7LSS:
Incorrect, but nice try. Do you realize the same hormonal cycle occurs in all of us? What chemicals are injected into them? What hormones? I actually know of a few that are used since I’m a veterinarian, but I’m not gonna do your homework for you.

I think it’s the lowest thing on this planet to wantonly take an animal. But don’t use it as a political agenda stepping stone.

How about the antibiotics that are fed to feedlot animals as part of their feed mix?

Antibiotics are not hormones. Every single antibiotic or medicine an animal receives has a withdrawal time before that animal can be slaughtered for consumption. Veterinary Feed Directives must be in place for an animal to receive any medication in a feed ration. The VFD must be issued to treat a condition in an animal or group of animals. There is a still a withdrawal time on these to ensure that residues are not present in tissues of the animal at time of slaughter, or in milk.

Despite what media tells you, there is no "hormones and antibiotics" in your meat or milk, other than what is there naturally. It's proven science. If you don't want to eat commercially produced meat, or meat that has been treated medically, and want "organic", all natural, whatever the buzz word of the week is, that's your prerogative. But that doesn't mean that it's better for you.

Always made me laugh when I hear of hormones in your beef. How much would that cost per head? What farmer is going to pay for it? Pure BS.

I don't condone what the man did. Glad to see he was caught and had to pay. I also don't agree with a 50" law. Is a hunter going to go out and measure and then go back and shoot? Sure if it's way under, a hunter would know, but knowing it's 50"? How is that determined on the hoof?

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
I don't condone what the man did. Glad to see he was caught and had to pay. I also don't agree with a 50" law. Is a hunter going to go out and measure and then go back and shoot? Sure if it's way under, a hunter would know, but knowing it's 50"? How is that determined on the hoof?

9" eyeball to eyeball, & the guy was a felon from calif. With a little show & tell & experience even most Texans can figure it out.

quote:

Originally posted by carpetman1:
I don't condone what the man did. Glad to see he was caught and had to pay. I also don't agree with a 50" law. Is a hunter going to go out and measure and then go back and shoot? Sure if it's way under, a hunter would know, but knowing it's 50"? How is that determined on the hoof?

This is why many states have a requirement that non residents hire guides. The purpose is to protect the wildlife. Not to employ guides .

Alaska does not have that requirement for moose

quote:

I also don't agree with a 50" law. Is a hunter going to go out and measure and then go back and shoot? Sure if it's way under, a hunter would know, but knowing it's 50"? How is that determined on the hoof?

This somehow reminds me of the 6 year old law related to Lion.

quote:

Originally posted by model7LSS:
Antibiotics are not hormones. Every single antibiotic or medicine an animal receives has a withdrawal time before that animal can be slaughtered for consumption. Veterinary Feed Directives must be in place for an animal to receive any medication in a feed ration. The VFD must be issued to treat a condition in an animal or group of animals. There is a still a withdrawal time on these to ensure that residues are not present in tissues of the animal at time of slaughter, or in milk.

Despite what media tells you, there is no "hormones and antibiotics" in your meat or milk, other than what is there naturally. It's proven science. If you don't want to eat commercially produced meat, or meat that has been treated medically, and want "organic", all natural, whatever the buzz word of the week is, that's your prerogative. But that doesn't mean that it's better for you.

It's not what goes into the cow while it's alive that is scary, it's what is put into the meat during and after the butchering process.

For example; In 2000, federal officials were struggling to remove potentially deadly E. coli from hamburgers when an innovative company from South Dakota came up with a novel idea: injecting beef with ammonia. Ammonia is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent smell that is used in many commercial cleaning products. Although in wide use, ammonia is both caustic and hazardous. The company, Beef Products Inc., had been looking to expand into the hamburger business with a product made from beef that included fatty trimmings the industry once relegated to pet food and cooking oil. The trimmings were particularly susceptible to contamination, but a study commissioned by the company showed that the ammonia process would kill E. coli as well as salmonella.

Officials at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) endorsed the company's ammonia treatment, and have said it destroys E. coli "to an undetectable level." They decided it was so effective that in 2007, when the department began routine testing of meat used in hamburger sold to the general public, they exempted Beef Products.

Or how about Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen? All approved by the FDA as a way to keep meats looking fresher. Mmmmm, sounds yummy doesn't it.

I almost never eat fast food and all of our beef in our house comes from our own cows. Same with the Lamb, Goat and Chicken/Eggs we eat, all raised on our farm.

The ammonia thing is old hat, used in trimmings (potentially non-edible) to preserve and render it. Animal renderings aren't just used for food. And yes, any ground meat is highly susceptible to bacterial pathogens. Which is why you cook it. The cooking not necessarily kills bacteria but renders the toxins ineffective through heat.
Further Reading
Carbon Monoxide - very, very, small part of the normal air we breath. Inert gas. Only reason it is toxic to humans is that it more readily binds to the hemeprotein than oxygen, blocking oxygen transport via red blood cells.

Carbon Dioxide - our body produces it, not harmful unless you breath concentrated CO2.

Nitrogen - the air we breathe is 78% Nitrogen.

Kudos to producing your own meat, wish I had the means to do the same.