The father of a Missouri girl who shot a protected elk in error said she has been subjected to abuse on social media.
According to The Kansas City Star, Abby Wilson, 14, shot an elk she believed to be a deer during a hunting expedition with her father. Missouri’s deer season is legal in the location where the father and daughter were hunting.
Don White, the father of the dead teenager, said he contacted the Missouri Department of Conservation after looking at his daughter’s carcass.
“We think we just shot an elk,” he said.
It’s unusual that an elk would be in Boone County, which is roughly 200 miles from where a wild elk herd was reintroduced in Carter and Shannon counties.
Until White sent him a photo of evidence, conservation officer Adam Doerhoff was unconvinced that the elk existed.
“The dad sent me a photo to my phone and it was very clear that, yes, that’s an elk,” said Doerhoff, reports the Springfield News-Leader. “You don’t expect to see something like that. I’ve learned to never say never.”
“To see one in Boone County is out of the ordinary,” said the conservation department’s spokesman, Robert Hemmelgarn.
“She saw antlers, she saw the body. She thought it was a deer and took the shot,” said the department’s regional supervisor, Tom Strother. “This young girl probably had never seen an elk in the wild before. The dad certainly did the right thing by immediately calling us.”
Since their tale went viral, White said that his daughter has been the subject of online hate from internet forums.
A Facebook group said “STOP Trophy Hunting NOW” posted about the story, saying, “Idiots and their offspring with guns in the woods, don’t even know what they are shooting at.”
“Don’t come at my daughter saying lock her away,” argued White. “Wow. If my daughter gets fined, I’ll pay it and move on. So be it. We’ll deal with it.”
White added that he hoped his family would be permitted to consume the animal’s flesh and antlers.
“I’d make sure everybody around my family would have some of that,” White said.
White was told that “no parts of the elk will be returned to him or the family” by personnel, according to Strother. If the meat is found to be free of disease, it may be given to low-income families.
According to a post on WXIA’s Facebook page, some people were divided over whether the youngster should be penalized for the elk’s death.
“The 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,” said one user. “The 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’t go to jail but if there is a fine it is definitely justified.”
“She’s 14. She’s learning still. Her dad did the right thing in calling immediately however,” added another person. “The elk had no tag and they even said they didn’t have any reports of elk in the area so it was odd to even see one out there.”