The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife allowed hunters to kill 77 elk on a single property along the Oregon Coast over a three-year span. The revelation is drawing outrage from some in the community.
KOIN in Portland reports it happened in Gearhart, just south of Seaside, from 2020 to 2022. It was brought up to the city council on Oct. 4, according to the Seaside Signal.
Many Gearhart residents spoke out against the decision at a town meeting on Monday.
RELATED: The Great Outdoors: Oregon State Police poaching patrol
RELATED: CAUGHT ON CAM: Elk play in snow on Washington interstate wildlife overpass
At that meeting, ODFW said the tags were handed out based on pre-existing guidelines that a property owner can request as many as five hunting tags at one time to a list of hunters named by that property owner if they can prove that elk are causing damage, KOIN reported. The hunters can then kill an elk on the owner’s property.
ODFW has not released the location or name of the property where the elk were killed. But because of community reaction, ODFW has not released any tags for that property for the 2023 hunting season.
You can read the full story at koin.com.
