PETA elk ad emphasizes bloody payback for Utah hunters

"Payback is hell." That is the message that the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wants to send with a new billboard the group plans to erect near Vernal. The words accompany a picture of an elk with bloodied antlers, along with the more direct anti-hunting message to "Leave animals alone." The billboard offers no explanation for the imagery, but a post on a PETA blog references a hunter who earlier this month nearly died after he accidentally punctured his neck on the antler of an elk he had just killed in Uintah County. "PETA is bringing attention to the fact that hunting draws blood on both sides," the organization posted on its blog. Bradley Greenwood, 51, killed a large bull elk the morning of Sept. 7 in the Davenport Draw area of Diamond Mountain, east of Vernal. Greenwood, of Lehi, tried to roll the elk, but the elk was bigger than he thought — about 600 to 700 pounds, Undersheriff John Laursen estimated at the time. One of the antlers plunged into his face behind his jaw, stabbing downward into his neck. Greenwood called 911 for help, saying his neck was swelling and he was struggling to breathe. Laursen said the wound likely had become inflamed. Rescuers found Greenwood and flew him to Ashley Regional Medical Center to be stabilized. Medics placed a tube into his trachea to keep it open, Laursen said; nurses have reported the procedure likely saved Greenwood’s life...more