Thieves

SLIPPERY ROCK TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — Bob McConnell and his nephew sensed something was very wrong when they came to feed the herd at his Horseshoe Hill Ranch Tuesday morning.

“The deer were really spooky. They were running around and I noticed some deer were in different pens,” he said.

They spotted a trio of tennis shoe tracks coming toward the pens.

“As we looked around and we found the first deer that was you know, decapitated,” he said.

A total of three carcasses were found all headless. There were a couple of 10-point bucks and one with a 25-point rack.

“What we think is they killed the buck up there in pen 7 first and worked their way down here.”

Why would anyone do such a thing?

“To put a trophy on the wall – you wouldn’t think they cut it off at the neck if they were going to do that,” he said. “But antler selling on eBay has become a big thing.”

Bob grew up on a farm and has been raising deer for eight years.

“They’re raised to go off to shooting preserves. I run an outfitting business,” he explained.

And he badly wants to find out who killed his deer.

“I’m putting a reward out. There’s a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and the conviction.”

State police are investigating.

“And again, one of the bucks was a 25-point which is a rare deer and not something you find running around the woods all the time.”

Trooper Ronald Kesten says the three deer are valued at $25,000. That high cost makes this crime a felony.

Adds Bob McConnell, “Surely somebody’s going to talk about it. Give us a call and put these guys where they need to go.”

If you have any information about the poachers you can contact Bob McConnell directly at 724-290-9338 or Butler State Police at 724-284-8100

I am IN NO WAY defending this action.. but would like to comment on antlers sales on E-bay, etc...
 
One of my friends who is a deer farmers cuts antlers off trophy bucks that he uses for actual ( physical )breeding of many females so no one is hurt or injured..  he then sells them.. totally legal since he is a "deer farmer"..
 
He tells me there is a demand for antlers from various people. One of the biggest is sports bars, they buy the antlers, have them mounted on some other deer head or just the antlers and hang them in their establishment.. they look good hanging on the walls of the bar and the owners can make up a story or just say the were bought for decoration...

That is not really surprising when you consider the amount of people that "poach" or "road hunt" & mount thier "trophy" As far as being too lazy to go on a canned hunt,have you ever priced one of those trophy canned hunts? Anywhere from $2000 & up. Also where do you think all of the horns go from most of the road kills.I would suppose that you could legaly buy antlers from those guys that pick up road kills for the state.I am pretty sure you can buy them from the PGC if you hit the deer with a vehicle & want to keep the antlers. sam

the smaller or loose antlers are used

For Jackalopes

So what's wrong with selling antlers or any non edible game parts

Who said anything about it being wrong ??????

Love the way you make stuff up !!!!

Welcome to the real world ! People will buy ANYTHING. I once sold a pair of used socks on eBay once to prove that point.If you don't want it by all means sell it, antlers or what ever. There is always a buyer for anything.

ORIGINAL: SonofZ3

ORIGINAL: Outdoor Adventures

So what's wrong with selling antlers or any non edible game parts? As long as it's a legal kill, sell away ! The PGC sells theirs.

No one said its wrong, but I am suprised that the market for antlers is as big as the OP and others have suggested. I can't imagine a person buying any type of mounted game that he/she did not collect for their home. I can see it for a bar/lodge etc, but not for a personal decoration item. It just seems wierd to me.

I DO think its pathetic if anyone purchases a trophy set of antlers then tries to act like they harvested the animal.

"SUPER MASSIVE whitetail deer antlers sheds taxidermy!!!"

Sold $1750.00 ebay

Wonder if he had an insurance policy on his PRIZE deer ?

ORIGINAL: SonofZ3

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Point-Whitetail-Deer-Shed-Antler-Horn-Rack-Taxidermy-/220715599588?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3363acc6e4

This is more typical.

It was a win win for the thief, he either got antlers to sell or shot by the farmer so he could sue for the whole farm. It's unreal that in such a situation the thief has more rights than the farmer!