LINCOLN — An investigation by Vermont state game wardens has let to a 25-year-old Starksboro man being charged with taking a moose out of season.
Game Warden Robert Currier and Sgt. George Scribner responded on Oct. 5 to a report of a moose found dead on Guthrie Road in Lincoln. The wardens determined the moose had been illegally shot. Vermont’s firearms moose hunting season was Oct. 20-25 this year.
Further investigation led authorities to cite Shaun E. Rublee of Starksboro in the killing of the moose.
Wardens and Vermont State Police executed a search warrant on Rublee’s residence. Wardens seized eight bags of moose meat, moose antlers, several tools used to butcher the moose, a rifle, and several rounds of .32 caliber ammunition. Rublee was then charged with taking a moose in closed season.
Rublee is subject to fines and restitution totaling up to $2,500 and faces up to 60 days in jail or both. Rublee is also facing the loss of his privileges to hunt, fish and trap in Vermont for three years.
Fish and Game Department officials asked for help from members of the public, who are asked to report poaching violations to a game warden or anonymously through Operation Game Thief (OGT). Operation Game Thief, a nonprofit joint project of the Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, pays rewards to citizens who turn in poachers. Callers do not have to reveal their names, testify in court or sign a deposition. Rewards are paid if an arrest is made or if a citation is issued.
The toll-free OGT phone is 1-800-75ALERT (1-800-752-5378). Reports also can be made on Fish & Wildlife’s website, www.vtfishandwildlife.com.