RHEA COUNTY, Tenn. — Sportsmen in Rhea County are up arms after a Rocky Mountain elk was killed there Tuesday.
The animal was killed in the Summer City Road area on Evensville Mountain, a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) spokesperson said.
However, the animal had often been sighted in the valley not far north of Dayton.
Bill Newman captured this image of the Rhea County elk on one of his trail cameras on November 11th. Like many, Newman was outraged to learn the elk had been killed (Trailcam Image courtesy Bill Newman)
TWRA is offering a $1,000 reward for information about who may have killed the animal. That reward is being matched by Rhea County Sheriff Mike Neal, for a total $2,000 reward.
Sheriff Neal said,
After personally seeing the elk firsthand, I share the same outrage as everyone. There is no excuse for the extreme selfishness to eliminate such a rare animal and leave it to waste. Even the smallest detail may help. We are committed to finding who did this and holding them accountable.”
However, according to the law, killing an elk in Rhea County is actually legal.
Trail camera footage of Rhea County elk sent in by Jacob Matthew
According to TWRA regulations, “A legal deer hunter may harvest an elk (either sex) incidental to deer hunting on all private and public lands … except for public and private lands located in Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Scott, and Morgan counties and except for Big South Fork River and Recreation Area, Scott State Forest, and Obed National Scenic River Corridor.”
Those areas are the only places where elk are intensively managed. Elk that wander outside that area are legal to take.
HOWEVER, the law also says, “Elk harvested via incidental take must be reported to the TWRA on the day of harvest by calling 1-800-831-1174 to allow physical checking by TWRA personnel.”
Based upon the reward offered, this kill was obviously not reported. Based on photos on social media there was no attempt to recover the meat or antlers from the elk.
For weeks, or months, it’s been somewhat common knowledge in parts of Rhea County that an elk had taken up residence in the county. It is believed to have migrated to Rhea County from an existing elk population near Crab Orchard, just about 30 miles to the north.
However, many people wanted to remain hush-hush about the elk in Rhea County. They didn’t want the word spreading far and wide in fear someone with nefarious intentions might kill it.
Many people in Rhea County are outraged that now, the animal has been killed. Bill Newman captured a photo of the elk on one of his trail cameras on November 11 just north of Dayton.
“Needless to say it, it surprised me,” said Newman.
Upon learning the elk had been killed, Newman said, “It made me mad.”
Newman says the law allowing such harvests also makes him mad. He believes that law needs to be changed.
“I said, there’s no way. I pitched a fit. I told (the local game warden) that he needed to call his superiors, talk to the people above him and put a stop to this. I mean, how stupid is this? We get an elk here and it’s legal to shoot him? I told him, ‘You definitely need to be talking to the (wildlife) commissioners. You talk to whoever you need to talk to and we need to put a stop to this.”
Well-known bass angler Wesley Strader, also from Rhea County, posted about the elk kill on Facebook.
Strader wrote, “This is what gives hunters a bad name, by the actions of some (expletive deleted). If anyone knows who did this I encourage you to reach out to the TWRA. This needs to be made right. Sad, sad, sad! “
It just makes me sick,” Strader told NewsChannel 9. “How many times in your life will you get the chance to see a free-roaming wild elk virtually in your back yard.”
Another sportsman, who asked to remain anonymous saw the elk standing on the side of the road about two weeks ago.
He said, “I’d seen trail cam pictures of it, but I was driving right after dark when I actually saw it standing on the side of the road. It looked like a horse at first but when I realized what it was, it was surreal. I felt like I was out in Yellowstone.”
Anyone with information should contact the TWRA Region III office at 931-484-9571.
Depend on us to keep you posted on this investigation.