Judge’s Decision in Animal Cruelty Case Outrageouse

Whitetails Unlimited Appalled by Judge’s Decision in Animal Cruelty Case
Claiming to be hunting should not prevent justice in obvious cruelty case.

Whitetails Unlimited

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin - A judge’s decision in an animal cruelty case is completely outrageous, said Whitetails Unlimited President Jeff Schinkten. “This case has nothing to do with hunting, and the decision needs to be appealed and reversed, or the law that allows this loophole needs to be immediately fixed,” said Schinkten.

The case dates to January of this year, when three men were charged in a Waupaca County (Wisconsin) court with animal cruelty for running down five deer, including a fawn, with their snowmobiles. Four of the deer were dead at the scene and one was euthanized later. The judge dismissed felony charges against one defendant after his attorney argued that the defendant was hunting.

“These men were not hunting, this case has nothing to do with hunting, and to equate regulated hunting to what these men are alleged to have done is an insult and slander to all hunters,” said Schinkten. “Whitetails Unlimited members support ethical, legal hunting and are appalled by the alleged detailed in this case. For someone to escape justice by claiming they were hunting is just disgusting.”

“For a judge to equate legal hunting with running down multiple deer with a pack of snowmobiles, and leaving them to die, just defies reason,” said Schinkten. “If this stands the law needs to be changed so future criminals can’t hide behind ethical hunters. The allegations in this case show a classic case of animal cruelty, and the felony charges should be reinstated.”

Prosecutors in the case have 20 days from the date of the judge’s ruling to appeal the decision.

About:
Founded in 1982, Whitetails Unlimited is a national nonprofit conservation organization. Our mission is to raise funds in support of education, habitat enhancement and acquisition, and the preservation of the hunting tradition for the benefit of the white-tailed deer and other wildlife. When it comes to the whitetail and its environment, WTU’s degree of professionalism and dedication has earned us the reputation of being the nation’s premier whitetail organization.