Minnesota hunter cited for wanton waste of a caribou near Sagwon

A bull caribou taken near Sagwon last month was left with edible meat unsalvaged, Alaska Wildlife Troopers said, and the hunter carried the antlers out first. Fairbanks Wildlife Troopers contacted the hunter, a 38-year-old man from Albert Lea, Minnesota, on Aug. 22. Troopers said their investigation found he failed to salvage all edible meat from a bull caribou he harvested. He removed the antlers from the kill site before completing that salvage, troopers said.

He was issued misdemeanor citations for Wanton Waste and for Antlers or Horns Before Meat, the rule that antlers may be taken out of the field only after the meat is packed out. An arraignment is set in Utqiagvik Court, though the dispatch does not give the date. The Department of Public Safety posted the dispatch Wednesday and said charges are accusations, with defendants presumed innocent.

Alaska statute makes it a class A misdemeanor to fail intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence to salvage the edible meat of a big game animal. "The more egregious charge, of wanton waste, carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $10,000 fine," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said in its meat care guidance.