Were they crowded into a high fence situation? Likely there are no laws on the book that cover such an event. Sad that it happened, but not suprised at all.
We had an incident about 10 years ago where our locals put together a coordinated effort on an elk herd frequenting an isolated alfalfa pivot. Basically, about 20 folks got them surrounded on opening day. This was a bull season. When the officers made it to the site, they found something like 12 - 15 unclaimed elk, with most being cows. More bloody trails led off into the hills. Only 2 people were pinched for not having tags. The officers admitted that had they been on site, they would have essentially been saturated with mob behavior, and likely unable to assign any of the excess shooting to specific individuals. That event angered both the hunting and non hunting public, and was the subject of many arguments in the community.
I've never been involved in an event like that, but have seen small herds totally baffled after a comrade has fallen. Had I been inclined, I'm fairly sure I could have taken about a dozen animals.
The closest I've come to such and incident... The wife and I were moving in on a 40 acre clearing where we expected to find elk. Two fully loaded pickups raced in ahead of us and unleashed about a 40 rd barrage that lasted close to 2 minutes. When it quieted down we eventually ventured in and found 2 of 9 individuals tending to a single dead cow. The rest were off on blood trails, but no other animals were recovered. We fully expected to find a true cord of elk piled up in that situation. I think it speaks to the ability and ethics of more of our so called hunters than we care to admit.
As a youngster back east I was always amazed at hunters that reported missing 3 to 6 whitetails in a single day. Obvioulsy, my skills were not up to par, as I felt lucky to just see a deer on a given day.
It's sad, but some humans are no better than dogs, coyotes, or wolves when they get into pen of captive critters.
Wouldn't suprise me if that piece of ground is excluded from future hunts.
Last edited by 1minute; 12/30/09.
