Moose Poacher Sent to Jail, Hunting License Suspended for Life

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 ground south of American Falls. The incident took place in 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 Mark Bebee that he was hunting deer.

Faulkner admitted that his non-resident status in the tribe only allowed him to hunt within the boundaries of the reservation. He now understands that the Rudeen Ranch Mitigation property is not 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 went on to say that he looked for the animal but could not find it.

The facts showed that 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.

Judge Bebee told Faulkner he was the guy we don't want in the hills with a rifle and then handed down the following sentence: $2191 in fines and restitution, his rifle sold by Idaho Fish and Game, 60 days in the Power County Jail (to begin serving immediately), and a lifetime suspension of his hunting privileges.

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.