PAUL TOOHEY
Anton Kapeller, 58, Darren Tubb, 43, and Samuel Henley, 18, all from Tasmania, pleaded guilty yesterday in the Elmore County Court in Mountain Home, Idaho, for killing a bull elk out of hunting season and for illegally transferring tags on a dead wolf.
The three refused to comment after their hearing but Judge Hicks left them with their ears ringing, their wallets significantly lighter and their valuable rifles confiscated, along with orders that the two older men, Tubb and Kapeller, never hunt in Idaho again.
The court heard Kapeller had been going to Idaho to hunt for 20 years and had long been suspected by Idaho Game and Fish officers of taking elk in the closed season.
Tubb and his nephew, Henley, joined Kapeller a neighbour from Blackwood Creek in northern Tasmania on an expedition in the Sawtooth National Forest. On October 28, four days before elk hunting season was open, Tubb and Henley spotted a large bull elk.
They made radio contact with their guide, Kapeller, who was at a nearby camp, saying they had a bull elk with six-point antlers in their sights. Asking his advice, Kapeller replied: “Do what you feel comfortable with”.
All men admitted knowing they were hunting in closed season.
It was Tubb’s and Henley’s first trip to Idaho, but neither they nor Kapeller realised that the whole hunt was under observation by Idaho wildlife officers.
Henley took three shots at the bull elk and missed. His uncle took over and killed the elk. The officers saw the whole thing.
The hunters left the elk where it died and went back to their camp. Over following days, while still under observation, the men returned to the elk and started skinning it, but leaving most of the meat to rot.
On November 2, after they went near the carcass to retrieve the antlers they had stashed, Tubb and Henley saw two wolves that had been attracted to the carcass. Henley shot both.
Henley said on Facebook he had been menaced by the wolves and had shot in self defence, but Idaho officers said no such thing happened.
Henley only had a permit to shoot one wolf and his uncle pretended he had shot the second wolf.
On November 3, Fish and Game officers approached the men. According to court documents, Kapeller lied, saying the elk had been killed on November 1, when the season had opened.
But date-stamped trophy photos on their cameras showed otherwise.
The men were charged with numerous offences, including taking an elk out of season and transferring tags. Kapeller was additionally charged with leaving campfires burning and littering the forest.
The men, who spent six days in Elmore County jail and initially pleaded not guilty, yesterday changed their pleas to guilty.
“It’s a criminal act,” said Judge Hicks.
“The law’s in place for all of us, whether you’re from Idaho, Australia or Timbuktu.
“I find the thing to be so egregious. Leaving the meat on the hill, that is inexcusable.”
The judge said the animal was a trophy bull elk. “I’ve put a lot of hours in the field and I’ve taken them myself,” he said.
Asked to explain himself to the court, Tubb said: “Um, well, basically, we took the elk at the wrong time and transferred tags and that makes us guilty”.
The judge was particularly scathing of Kapeller, telling him: “If I had the ability to do it, I would suspend your hunting privileges for life [worldwide]”.
Kapeller had been going to Idaho for 20 years and officers had long suspected he was hunting out of season. Police had received tip-offs throughout the years and this time received advance warning he was coming. They plotted a stake-out.
The court heard Kapeller had organised the expedition and showed the men where to hunt elk, knowing the season was closed.
“I’d like to apologise to you and your court and the state of Idaho for causing any problems,” Kapeller said.
Idaho has reciprocal relationships with most other US states, meaning none will allow him to hunt there again.
Defence attorney Gerald Bublitz expressed surprise the case had attracted interest in Australia and sought to downplay Kapeller’s 1990 conviction in Tasmania for drugging deer.
Mr Bublitz said Kapeller had been portrayed as an illegal outfitter and painted “in the most adverse light”. “He just wants to get back home to his family and his friends,” he said.
The judge asked Henley rhetorically if Australia had hunting laws and whether he was familiar with hunting ethics. The young man said yes on both counts.
“I’d like to apologise to the state of Idaho,” Henley told the court.
“It was a lesson learned, I’ll never make the mistake again. It’s been a real eye-opener over here. I’m really sorry.”
Tubb paid fines and restitutions of almost $5300, had his rifle and scope forfeited and was told he would never hunt in Idaho again. He also lost $5000 in bond money.
Henley was fined about $2500 for handing his wolf tag to another person and for aiding and abetting the taking of the elk. He also lost $4000 in bond money.
He was told he could not hunt in Idaho for three years.
Kapeller faced five counts and in fines and restitutions paid $6000. He lost $7500 in bond money and weapons.
He was told never to come back to Idaho to hunt. All men were sentenced to 180 days in jail, suspended.