State Wildlife & Fisheries agents arrest a Patterson man for illegally taking nutria, to collect bounties for the invasive species. LDWF spokesman Adam Einck (EYE-nk) says their investigation began with them being alerted to videos posted on social media that showed the cruel acts…:
“…where a man was gaffing a nutria, cutting the tail off and letting it go; alive but obviously very injured. So we looked further into it, and we were able to identify who was doing it.”
They arrested 45-year-old Harris DeHart last week. He is seen in the videos catching nutria by gassing them, cutting off their tails and letting them go; impaired and badly injured. Einck says he faces a long list of charges…:
“Probably the biggest one is the cruelty to animals charge. He was also cited for illegally taking non-game quadrupeds. Which is basically, he used a gaff to try to take nutria and that’s not allowed.”
Under state law, only a .22 rifle or small bore shotgun are allowed for dispatching nutria, and they should be dead before the tails are removed to hand in for bounty. Einck says the state pays a bounty for the invasive animals, and they pay by how many tails one turns in. However, he says the manner in which DeHart was getting the tails was cruel and in violation of state law for how nutria are to be legally taken. He says DeHart was, in essence, cheating the nutria bounty system…:
“He has received some compensation for those tails, but as of now, his permit (for the bounty program) has been taken away.”
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