Background: Gary on left. Foreground: Franny on right.
In what could be unprecedented charges, a coyote hunter is facing two felonies and a misdemeanor for the fatal shooting of two pet dogs at a wildlife area in Dane County in late January.
Kurt Rausch of Evansville is charged with two felony counts of mistreatment of animals and one misdemeanor count for the negligent handling of a firearm. He has been ordered to appear in Dane County Court on Thursday morning.
The Department of Natural Resources had declined to press charges.
The criminal complaint filed by Dane County Assistant District Attorney Paul Humphrey states that Rausch intentionally treated an animal belonging to Deanna Clark “in a cruel manner, resulting in the animal’s death.” If convicted, each count carries a fine of up to $10,000 and imprisonment up to three years. Rausch faces an additional fine up to $10,000 and imprisonment up to nine months for the misdemeanor charge.
According to the complaint, Rausch told a Dane County sheriff’s deputy that he was hunting coyotes at night on Jan. 22 in the Badfish Creek Wildlife Area, located about three miles southwest of Stoughton, when he shot two dogs belonging to Clark, a veterinarian. Clark was walking with her four dogs — all trained for skijoring — who were wearing reflective vests. In a letter to Humphrey, Clark states she was wearing a headlamp that is “as powerful as an automobile headlight.”
In the complaint, Rausch says that shortly after using a calling device he heard animals running to his location. “Rausch stated that he saw the eyes of what he believed to be a coyote and a face and pointy ears, and pulled the trigger, shooting the dog. Rausch stated that he did not realize it was a domesticated dog that he had shot.” Moments later Rausch shot a second animal who came running towards him, also believing it was a coyote.
According to the complaint, Clark then came running up to him screaming, “What did you do? You shot my dogs.”
Her dog Franny died on the spot. Gary was able to make it to an emergency clinic but died days later. In her letter to Humphrey, Clark writes of months of anguish since the fatal shootings. “On Jan. 22, while enjoying a place I’ve found solace in three to five times per week the last few years, my world was turned upside down when Franny and Gary were shot and killed right in front of me, both wearing reflective vests.... The hunter shot recklessly while hunting in the dark without verifying his target. This was certainly no mere accident.... In writing this letter, I ask that you charge the hunter appropriately, as well as call attention to the real and present danger affecting the public at large when hunters are allowed to discharge their guns at night.”
A phone message left at Rausch's Evansville home was not immediately returned. The sheriff deputy’s report of the incident stated that Rausch called 911 after the shootings and “appeared to be visibly upset and shaken. [He] stated he never meant for this to happen.”
Unlike deer hunting, coyote hunting is permitted at night. Critics say what happened to Clark’s dogs highlights how unsafe this is for domesticated animals as well as people. They are also concerned that a new law signed this fall by Gov. Scott Walker, which allows for powerful spot lights to be mounted to rifles for hunting coyotes at night from Jan. 1 through July 31, increases the danger of evening hunting because shining a bright light on an object blocks out its surroundings. Rausch had a spotlight and a headlamp with him, according to the complaint.
Jodi Habush Sinykin, a lawyer of counsel to Midwest Environmental Advocates, says the loss faced by Clark will happen to others unless “changes are made to guarantee that citizens can enjoy public lands safe from the perils of hunters and trappers. The fact is that the state has taken away most of the public’s safe places to recreate.”
Habush Sinykin says the 2012 state law, known as the Hunting Heritage Bill, which opened up more state parks to hunting and trapping, together with the DNR’s authorization of year-round, day and night coyote hunting, has “created a state landscape in which very few places remain where Wisconsin families can enjoy nature on public lands without risk that they or their pets will be shot or injured in a trap.”
In an interview, Clark says that she knows the charges will not bring her beloved dogs back. But, she adds, “hopefully it sets a precedent for the future so people won’t be so reckless.”
Clark still can’t talk about the incident without crying. She says she and her husband consider their dogs members of the family, even though the law does not necessarily see it that way. She recalls the Badfish Creek Wildlife Area as a beautiful spot that she would visit often to exercise and unwind with her dogs.
“It was my little piece of heaven, and now it’s my little piece of hell because I will never go back again.”
