Suspect identified in falcon killing
KEITH COUSINS/kcousins@cdapress.com | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 3 months AGO
COEUR d'ALENE - The woman who allegedly attacked and killed a falcon owned by a Hauser hunter has been located by Idaho Department of Fish and Game investigators.
Craig Walker, IDFG regional conservation officer, told The Press Tuesday that a suspect has been identified. Depending on the breed of the falcon, he added, the woman could face federal charges for unlawfully taking a protected species.
Walker declined to give any details on the woman's identity or when she could potentially be charged in connection to the incident.
According to Scott Dinger, the woman left her red Jeep Wrangler near where his falcon, Hornet, was in the process of killing a duck successfully hunted by the duo on Jan. 7.
As he was approaching the scene, the former law enforcement officer said, he saw his falcon, clearly injured, flying away. Dinger, 50, said he immediately identified himself to the woman as a falconer who had just lawfully obtained the duck over which she was standing.
The woman then asked Dinger if Hornet was his falcon and he replied it was.
"She just goes 'I just beat the shit out of your falcon,'" Dinger told The Press in a previous story. "It became clear that my bird was hurt. I grabbed the duck and walked away from the lady because once she told me that, my only thought was getting my bird back."
He found Hornet dead approximately an hour later and said the bird suffered a fractured skull and broken leg.
Dinger has practiced falconry in the area for eight years and is nationally certified in the sport.
In an email to The Press, Dinger wrote that Hornet's story has started a healthy dialogue about the sport of falconry both in the community and beyond.
"It is my hope it (the story) will serve all of us in a positive manner," Dinger said. "We owe that to Hornet."
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