The owner of a nuisance animal control company that was providing deer removal services for the city of Burnsville has plead guilty to illegally taking 13 deer from a national wildlife refuge next to city property.
Mercer I. Englund, 66, of Bethel, owner of First Choice Wildlife Control, plead guilty to a charge of gross misdemeanor overlimit of wild animals. He was fined $1,500, had two firearms forfeited, and had his hunting privileges revoked for three years, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
A call to the Turn In Poachers (TIP) hotline last February lead State Conservation Officer Tony Salzer of Eagan to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, which borders Cliff Fen Park where Englund was permitted to remove deer. Englund had charged the city for harvesting 22 deer at the park.
During an evening patrol of the park shortly after the TIP call, Salzer heard three shots fired.
Englund and another man were later observed carrying loaded rifles in the refuge. A blood trail lead Salzer to a deer in a nearby ditch. Englund told the officer he had shot nine deer at the park.
“I explained to Mr. Englund that I knew he had reported shooting 22 deer out of Cliff Fen Park and that if he had really shot nine deer in the park, he had shot 13 in the refuge,†Salzer said.
Englund agreed with the numbers and admitted he knew he wasn’t to shoot deer outside of the park.
Anyone witnessing wildlife or fishing law violations is encouraged to contact the nearest conservation officer or law enforcement agency, or to call the toll-free TIP hotline at 800-652-9093. Most cell phone users can also call #TIP in Minnesota.
Finding a Minnesota conservation officer is just a click away at www.mndnr.gov/officerpatrolareas. Click on the map and a balloon will pop up that shows the officer phone number and State Patrol dispatch number.
