DNR sharpshooters kill 2 COWS!!

[drewevans]

just over a week ago DNR sharpshooters using their night vision shot two cows in the Former Elk farm just south of PI. The owner of the cows is "not allowed to talk about it" and owners close friends says all he says is "he lost two cows and is not allowed to talk about it". well it happened and Public money was surely spent to compensate the owner of the beef cattle for his losses, so shouldnt the public be informed about this wasteful spending because of a really dumb move on the sharpshooters?!?

Drew Evans

[LightningBG]

IF this is true, it's just dumb. Should be pretty easy to tell a deer from a cow.

The whole idea of " DNR/USDA sharpshooters" is beyond me. Unless they are sniper trained, what makes them "sharpshooters"? Are they just really good shots? I know lots of people that are really good shots. I think they just call them sharpshooters to make the public feel better.

Sharpshooters is a dumb way to accomplish anything. There are plenty of people that will pay the state to do what they are doing, yet we are paying them.

[drewevans]

lightning you are right, people actually did volunteer too help out in the begining. now i dont know how many people would help, that being said the "sharpshooters are peopel just like you and me that have applied to be sharpshooters i believe. they are not trained snipers or anything like that. and must not be the smartest people out there if there shooting cows.

[mainbutter]

I'm pretty sure I've read that they're allowed to take cows, and have some allotment for # of cows to shoot if they come to the bait.

It makes me wonder if they're concerned about deer to cow infection of CWD.

As for "not being allowed to talk about it", I wonder if he was threatened that any potential monetary compensation would be revoked if he discussed it.

[LightningBG]

As for "not being allowed to talk about it", I wonder if he was threatened that any potential monetary compensation would be revoked if he discussed it.

Not threatened, but I'm sure he signed a non-disclosure clause in return for the compensation he received. Pretty standard practice in a lot of situations.

[topcat3820]

I'm just wondering if these are some kind of Ninja super cows or something that would justify having "sharpshooters" wearing NVG's stalk & snipe them . This also begs the question of just how bad their regular shooters are... ("Ahhhh... they're in the trees... BLAM!!!").

Up here, we'd stick out a bale of hay & when they came to the bait, bonk them over the head with a heavy object if deadly force was called for to deal with the dreaded "uber cows" . If not, we'd just put them in one of those forced labor camps for cows known as a "dairy farm" until they realized the error of their ways .

[Spike76]

Anyone who pulls a trigger without knowing what they are shooting is surely not a sharpshooter. A hunter would not make this mistake.The DNR should post warnings for people to stay in after dark, because their employee's are at work. A sharpshooter must be able to identify it's target, and only shoot when the correct target is there. Shooting a cow shouldn't take sharpshooters anyway.They should've realized they were cows when they said MOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[lungdeflator]

Cows are known to be nocturnal so the night vision was a good call on their part

[RebelSS]

Official DNR Report: The COWS (Camouflaged Operative Wide-area Subversives) snuck in under cover of darkness as the point animals for an S&D mission.....the "Sharpshooters" then took offensive action to prevent a total herd tip-off...

"Sharpshooter"?!?!!!! And you shot TWO cows?! Give me a break!!!!!!!

[vitalshot5]

I guess what I find funny is that everyone jumping on this as fact and bashing the sharpshooters when there is no proof that any cows were even shot, sounds like another witch hunt by the poster, yes I did say another witch hunt.

[RebelSS]

My bad: Concerning my above post...the sharpshooters are from the USDA, NOT the Mn DNR.

Info supplied by John Weiss during interview with one of the shooters by the Rochester Post-Bulletin at 10:10 AM on March 9, 2011. Article is Available on the internet.

My info came from a personal involved source.

[Musky Buck]

If true I'm more concerned that it was cows and not calves. Time to take the word sharp out of the equation.

[jerkbait]

Cows are known to be nocturnal so the night vision was a good call on their part

Now that's funny stuff right there!!!!!!

[schmoe147]

Terrible IDEA. Why pay for sharpshooters when we the hunters would pay to be able to hunt these deer. Just my opinion

[jwmiller33]

Why is this taking place at night??? It doesn't seem to be the best idea for "sharpshooters" to be shooting at stuff at night when they clearly can't even make out what they are shooting at

[lichen fox]

This is really no different than the methods used to stop the spread of TB up here in NW MN...They know so little about many of these disease's and how they are spread that the only tool they have in the toolbox is to eliminate as many animals as possible....up here if even one animal in a cattle herd was detected with TB... the whole herd had to be destroyed...There is so little known about CWD and how it's spread that the only option is to shoot any and all animals that "may-have" came in contact with an infected animal...so, I suppose if a domestic animal wanders out of it's fenced in area to chow down on feed that may have somehow been contacted by another diseased animal it has to be taken out...again they don't know enough about CWD and how it's spread, but the Center for Disease Control and The Minnesota Board of Animal Health are both concerned enough about it's "possible" transmission to humans that both reccomend that "no portion" of a CWD infected animal be consumed by humans...Herd reduction or total elimination is the only tool they have to "try" and stop the spread...when animals get weary of excess hunting pressure...night hunting over bait is probably one of the best tools to quickly reduce the numbers...up here they eventually went to shooting the deer from helcopters with good success...have they started that yet down there??? Could, probably will be the next option if they don't get the numbers they need....

[someday]

The cattle herd has been grazing inside the Elk run area for a long time. There was an article last year that Tower planned to replace them with wild horses this year because they were to be paid somethink like $6 a head per month by the Federal Gov. In a few years they are no more restrictions to takeing the fence down and put up the medical industrial park, and large housing development.

[Steve_Plantz]

I have been doing some research on this story and I was also contacted by Lou Cornicelli of the MN DNR, he emailed me a copy of a letter sent to the DNR from Tower Investments, the company that owns Elk Run. I also talked to Drew on the phone and he asked me to post the info that I have. I am not able to attach the copy of the letter here so I had to type it out by hand.

Quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

March 21, 2011

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Att:Dave Pauly

2300 Silver Creek Road NE

Rochester, MN 55906

Re: Sharpshooters on Elk Run Property

Dear Mr.Pauly:

Tower Investments executed a permission forum with the USDA on March 1, 2011. With this form we granted their team of sharpshooters authority to shoot deer on Tower Investments property both inside and outside of the Elk Run fences. to date they have not shot any deer on Tower Investments property (inside or outside the fenced area). Additionally, I confirmed this morning with our pasture renter - Dave O'Brian that no cattle have been mistakenly shot by sharp shooters within the Elk Run fence area. Feel free to call Dave directly at xxx-xxx-xxxx if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Geoffrey G Griffin

Project Manager

Cc: Dave O'Brian

[bobbymalone]

huh, well...

Personally I think it sounds bogus that these cattle were killed. I don't see why the DNR would get all cloak and dagger about it. Why would they? And believing sharpshooters mistaking a cow for deer is ridiculous. it just is and it didn't happen.

Then the "official" explanation shows up sort of randomly... but yeah, that sounds a whole lot more believable.

i'm callling shenanigans on the original post.

i wonder what this is all about

edit: sorry made a deletion: welcome to hso steve

[Steve_Plantz]

Thanks for the welcome Bobby!

[Ufatz]

What we have seen here folks is a text book example of one of the dangers of the Internet. It should remind everyone that just because something shows up in a "forum" some place does not mean it is authentic. And there will always be posters who take perverse delight in lighting troublesome bush fires and watching them spread. And there are folks who are well intentioned but mistaken in their information.

Lives, fortunes and reputations have been wrecked by gossip. A hundred years ago the gossip moved over the back fence or through idle chat at the saloon. Now it moves faster and farther in a mouse click.

Be careful. Pay attention. And BEFORE you pass something on....THINK.

[drewevans]

this message was well thought through think for one second why i would post soemthing so ridiculous with my name signed too it if i hadnt thought the post through and done my research to.

at this point the story has come to a ending but do not critisize me for not doing my research just because you see a letter from a multi billion dallar company. money talks and it may be talking here im done with this subject but theres many questions unanswered and in time we may get the answers i realy dont give a flying [PoorWordUsage] about any of it any more any way. there are way more important things to be worried about as a hunter in this region than a couple dead cows.

good day too all and good luck fishing

Drew Evans

[Ufatz]

Please read my post again. No member was singled out. I have/had no idea who began the thread. Note I state that some folks with good intentions simply work with bad information.

There are no "unanswered" questions or issues here. You are right: the issue is closed. For most of us.