Subject: The Buffaloes revenge. Texan charged with 32 counts in massacre near Fairplay
Posted by: Buff_Enuff on Tue May 13 2008 12:04:18 AM
Message:
Texas man faces charges in deaths of bison on Colorado ranch
FAIRPLAY, Colo. - An arrest warrant accuses a Texas man of animal
cruelty and theft in the slaughter of 32 bison on a Colorado ranch in
March.
The warrant issued Thursday names Jeffrey Scott Hawn of Austin, who
controls the ranch where the bison were shot.
An Austin listing for Hawn repeatedly rang busy Thursday and his
attorney did not immediately return a telephone message.
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The bison were found in late March strewn across hundreds of
snow-covered acres about 85 miles southwest of Denver.
Sheriff Fred Wegener has said they had wandered off the ranch of their
owners, Monte and Tracy Downare.
Hawn had filed a lawsuit a few days earlier saying the Downares' bison
had been stampeding onto his property and damaging or destroying
trees, fences and a satellite dish.
Steve Csajaghy (shy-AW'-ghee), Hawn's Denver lawyer, has said his
client had no choice but to get rid of them.
"He had to protect himself at that point," Csajaghy said in March.
Monte Downare filed suit a month after the bison were found claiming
14 hunters were hired to kill them. The lawsuit claims "outrageous
conduct" that caused emotional distress.
Wegener has said deputies questioned about a dozen hunters who claimed
they had permission to shoot the bison. Their names haven't been
released and Wegener hasn't said whether they will face charges.
Bison are considered a domesticated species in Colorado and are not
covered by hunting and wildlife laws.
Hunts are allowed on private ranches, and Downare has advertised
organized bison hunting on his ranch in the past.
Hawn is a 50 percent shareholder in a company that owns ranch land in
Park County, but it's unclear whether that company owns the ranch
where the bison were found or Hawn himself does.
Hawn faces 32 counts of animal cruelty and one count each of theft and
criminal mischief.
Current Thread:
The Buffaloes revenge. Texan charged with 32 counts in massacre near Fairplay -- Buff_EnuffTue May 13 2008 12:04:18 AM
