Note: we are republishing this story which originally made the news in November 2017.A Missouri teen who mistakenly shot a protected elk has been getting bullied by users online, her dad said.<\/p>\n
Abby Wilson, 14, reportedly shot an elk that she mistook for a deer during a hunting trip with her father according to The Kansas City Star. The father and daughter were hunting legally during Missouri\u2019s deer season, but elk are protected in the area.<\/p>\n
The teen\u2019s dad, Don White, said he contacted the Missouri Department of Conservation after inspecting the animal\u2019s body.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think we just shot an elk,\u201d he told them.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unusual that the elk was in Boone County, around 200 miles from where a wild elk herd has been reintroduced in Carter and Shannon counties.<\/p>\n
Even conservation agent Adam Doerhoff was doubtful about the elk until White sent him picture proof.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dad sent me a photo to my phone and it was very clear that, yes, that\u2019s an elk,\u201d said Doerhoff, reports the Springfield News-Leader. \u201cYou don\u2019t expect to see something like that. I\u2019ve learned to never say never.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see one in Boone County is out of the ordinary,\u201d said the conservation department\u2019s spokesman, Robert Hemmelgarn.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe saw antlers, she saw the body. She thought it was a deer and took the shot,\u201d said the department\u2019s regional supervisor, Tom Strother. \u201cThis young girl probably had never seen an elk in the wild before. The dad certainly did the right thing by immediately calling us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since their story circulated around the internet, White said that his daughter has faced criticism from groups online.
\nA Facebook group called \u201cSTOP Trophy Hunting NOW\u201d posted about the story, saying, \u201cIdiots and their offspring with guns in the woods, don\u2019t even know what they are shooting at.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t come at my daughter saying lock her away,\u201d argued White. \u201cWow. If my daughter gets fined, I\u2019ll pay it and move on. So be it. We\u2019ll deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
White added that he hoped conservation officials would allow him and his daughter to keep the animal\u2019s meat and antlers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d make sure everybody around my family would have some of that,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n
Strother said that staff told White that \u201cno parts of the elk will be returned to him or the family.\u201d The meat may be donated to needy families if it is found to be free of disease.<\/p>\n
Users online debated whether the girl should be punished for the elk\u2019s death, according to a post on WXIA\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe elk is a protected species. As there is no elk season, shooting it is illegal. Age or ignorance is not a defense for breaking the law. She made a mistake, there are consequences,\u201d argued one user. \u201cThe fact the dad asked to get the trophies from this animal is just really in poor taste. Your daughter illegally shot a protected elk, no you do not get the trophies from an illegal action. She shouldn\u2019t go to jail but if there is a fine it is definitely justified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s 14. She\u2019s learning still. Her dad did the right thing in calling immediately however,\u201d said another commenter. \u201cThe elk had no tag and they even said they didn\u2019t have any reports of elk in the area so it was odd to even see one out there<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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