Initial appearances were wrapped-up yesterday in circuit court for 15 individuals from the Beaver Dam area who are accused of pursuing, shining and killing wild animals with clubs and bats last spring in Columbia and Dodge Counties, the Department of Natural Resources announced today.
This past spring, conservation wardens received a tip from a concerned citizen about the illegal chasing and clubbing of wild animals, often raccoons and opossums, in rural areas of eastern Columbia and western Dodge Counties.
On April 4, 2009, wardens apprehended several people who were chasing wild animals with spotlights and clubs. That incident resulted in a pursuit by wardens and which subsequently landed Christopher Swanke, 22, of Beaver Dam in jail on five counts of reckless endangerment and one count of attempting to flee an officer.
DNR then launched a lengthy investigation which led to the issuing of 158 citations to the 15 individuals. The citations were issued for illegally killing protected wild animals, hunting without a license, hunting with an illegal weapon and unreasonable waste of a natural resource.
Ten of the people – all from the Beaver Dam area - cited with the alleged violations were identified as: Jason W. Adams, 18, Andrew S. Chapman, 17, Derek S. Fehling, 18, Matthew J. Haas, 17, Andrew L. Peterman, 18, Gary L. Spears, 20, Christopher J. Swanke, 22, Mariah N. Schepp, 18, Jacob L. Kleckner, 19 and Austin A. Tripke, 19.
The names of the five other individuals charged with violations are being withheld because they are juveniles.
Warden Paul Nadolski, Poynette, said it was “disturbing” how the individuals, many of them high school friends, regarded the activity as a game.
“They awarded points for the accumulation of dead animals of different species,” he said.
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