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Hunting News Latest Hunting News Bucks poached in Houston, Wichita Falls parks
Hunting News Latest Hunting News Bucks poached in Houston, Wichita Falls parks | Bucks poached in Houston, Wichita Falls parks |
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| Written by Administrator | |
| Wednesday, 31 December 2008 | |
 ATYPICAL: The Lucy Park buck carried a 200-class set of antlers before his death, apparently at the hands of a poacher. A city worker has been suspended in connection with the killing. At Bear Creek Pioneers Park in Harris County, poachers did the unthinkable, taking Mr. Buck, a buck so tame children would scratch his chin through the park fence. And at Lucy Park in Wichita Falls, an impressive 200-class buck wandered into the park within the city limits near the Wichita River and was shot. Park rangers said the 10-year-old Mr. Buck, one of two white-tailed deer kept on a wildlife sanctuary at the park, was killed during the night, and his head was taken as the prize. The perpetrator cut the park’s chain link fence and used a bolt cutter to enter the gate of the deer’s enclosure. A Crimestopper tip led to the poacher, a 23-year-old Houston man. When arrested, the man needed to be taken to the hospital for medical care after being gored by the buck. Although Mr. Buck was docile with visitors on the other side of the fence, inside the enclosure was a different story. “He was dominant in his territory and protective of his area,” said a park spokesperson. “The guy got more than he expected.” The 2,100-acre park occupies part of a federally protected reservoir system. Because the park is on federal property, officials say, the charges could be even more serious. Crime Stoppers had offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the poacher’s arrest. Also, Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack is offering a privately funded $5,000 reward. “I’m outraged by this, and obviously a lot of people are outraged as well,” Radack told the Houston Chronicle. “Any person who goes in and attacks an animal in captivity is just the lowest of the low.” In Wichita Falls, rumors began to spread that a 27-point buck shot Nov. 7 was taken at Lucy Park. The deer was well-known to Game Warden Pat Canan because it was observed for the past two years through a remote camera west of the park. Canan said the 61/2-year-old deer was with a doe when he was shot and speculated the buck had moved east into the park during mating season. The two poachers were caught after the buck turned up at a local taxidermy shop. They initially claimed they shot it outside the park but later cooperated fully, Canan said. The pair face potential fines and restitution totaling $20,000 and could face other misdemeanor or state jail felony charges. Wichita Falls city officials confirmed that a city parks department employee is now suspended from work because of the investigation. Replicas of the buck’s antlers will be placed in Operation GameThief trailers to be taken around the state for public education. —Staff reports. |
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