NM Men Plead To Shooting Wolves

Two men in separate cases in federal court last week each pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a Mexican gray wolf, a misdemeanor. Jack Bruton, 60, of Magdalena in Socorro County, and Ron Rains, 57, of Reserve in Catron County, said they initially thought they were shooting a coyote, for which no permit is needed. Bruton was cited for shooting a Mexican gray wolf, which is protected under the Endangered Species Act, on April 15, 2010. Rains was cited for shooting a lobo on Dec. 2, 2010. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, after Bruton shot and killed a wolf he thought was a coyote, he took the wolf to his home where he removed a collar, fitted with a GPS device. After burying the wolf at a remote site, Bruton destroyed the collar used to track the wolf and buried it in a different location, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. A U.S. magistrate judge fined Bruton $250 and ordered him to pay $4,095 in restitution, including $2,095 to cover the cost of the collar and GPS device. In the other case, Rains was driving through the Apache National Forest near his home in Reserve when he shot and killed a wolf he believed was a coyote. After realizing he had shot a wolf, Rains reported the matter to local law enforcement. Rains had been told two days before the shooting that a wolf was in the area where it was shot, according to court records. The judge fined Rains $250 and ordered him to pay $1,000 in restitution...more