Over 100 hunters took advantage of a cornered herd of elk in Montana over the weekend, killing dozens of them in a recklessly unethical shooting storm.
Hunters near White Sulphur Springs gave the sport a massive “black eye” this past week. Somewhere around 100 hunters were cornering a herd of elk – and opened fire – resulting in the killing of at least 50 of the animals.
Speaking to local news channel KTVH, David Sterner, a Montana hunter and native, is furious. “There’s a lot of people that don’t like hunting in general and what does this say for the people that enjoy this? It’s giving us a bad name and it’s giving ammunition for those people that want to restrict hunting rights,” Sterner (30) states. He’s been hunting in the state for half his life – and has never seen anything like this.
Only Six Violations Given for Elk Slaughter
Neither has the Montana hunting community at large, either. Such a large amount of hunters acting so unethically puts a terrible stain on their sportsman’s community.
According to Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP), six violations are active due to the incident. Of those violations, the most severe were “not having an updated hunting license” and “shooting from the road”. Unfortunately, the herd’s slaughter is legal, but in no way ethical.
“Unethical actions by hunters, in a circumstance like this, gives hunting as a activity, a real black eye,” clarifies Greg Lemon. Lemon is Spokesperson for FWP, and is far from happy with the incident, as well.
“They don’t see, you know, the value in an ecosystem, they don’t see the value in the beauty of what our Earth has to offer,” adds Joe Sterner, son of David Sterner. “We need to be on top of it and if we see people who are doing that, they need to be punished and they need to know that this can’t happen.”
Owner of Hunted Land “Disgusted” by Slaughter
Not all those who are speaking out are just local hunters, however. The owner of the land where this slaughter took place, Bill Galt, is particularly distraught.
“Truthfully, you really want to just vomit, when you hear it,” Galt spits. He’s owner of Galt Ranch, and is furious there’s nothing he can do to reprimand the spineless hunters. “I mean, it makes you sick to your stomach and I think the community, in general, is that way. It’s just like somebody [hit you] in the belly when you see that happening or hear about that happening.”
50 elk – at least – were slaughtered on his property. Of these, one was left completely unclaimed to rot on his land.
The incident has Galt so shaken that he and his brothers, who manage the block hunting areas near their ranch, are considering shutting them down.
[H/T KTVH]
