For the first time, DNA used in convictions of crimes against wildlife
ENTERPRISE, Ore. (AP) - In a first for Oregon, DNA evidence was used to help win convictions in a crime against wildlife.
Oregon State Police Lt. Randy Scorby said Tuesday that DNA from an elk illegally killed in November 2007 matched DNA found on a hatchet and plastic packaging seized from the homes of two suspects.
The results from labs in Oregon and Idaho led to the arrest and conviction of four hunters in Wallowa County Circuit Court. The men, three from the Portland area and one from Ridgefield, Wash., are banned from hunting for two years and must pay fines. Three of the four also received probation.
The Oregon Hunters Association and the Oregon Federation for North American Wild Sheep raised $25,000 to pay for the DNA pilot project.
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