Poachers Who Kill Animals 'For The Thrill' Face Hundreds Of Charges

Authorities in Oregon have charged 11 people for their evolvement in a 'kind of demented social club' where members would kill animals "for the thrill." Police began investigating in 2016 after they received reports of deer being found without their heads. 

Last November, police managed to capture video of a group of hunters leaving the site where police found a headless deer. They tracked down the truck the group was driving in December and found evidence that helped them identify over a dozen different hunting sites. 

Police said that they found evidence linking the men to the deaths of 35 deer, seven Bobcats, five bears, four Cougars, and one silver gray squirrel. Officials found photos and videos that documented the sickening kills. They even used dogs to help them maul and mutilate the wild animals. They also discovered a freshly cut deer head in the garage and 12 more in the backyard. 

Craig Gunderson, a senior Oregon trooper, told the Seattle Times that the men could be responsible for more killings but there is a gap between "what we can prove and what really happened."

“The scope of what we can prove and what actually happened, there’s a real gap there,” Gunderson said. “We’ll never have the whole story, but the stuff we can prove is pretty gross.”

Gunderson said that the men had different reasons for killing and mutilating the animals. 

“For some of these people, it was kind of a demented social club. For some, it was about ego and bravado — who could kill the biggest? The most?” said Gunderson. “For some people, it’s what their family did.”

Photo: Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content