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Russell man sentenced in illegal hunting incident
Peterson pleads guilty to unlawful transport of animals
Sep 3, 2025
Deb Gau
Staff Writer
dgau@marshallindependent.com
MARSHALL — A Russell man charged with shooting a deer from his vehicle pleaded guilty this week to unlawful transportation of wild animals, Lyon County court records said. Shawn Andrew Peterson, 56, received two years probation and had his hunting license suspended for three years, court records said.
Peterson appeared in Lyon County District Court Tuesday on charges of unlawful transportation of wild animals, discharging a firearm from a public highway, trespassing and transporting a loaded firearm. A criminal complaint alleged that last fall, a Lyon County resident reported seeing a pickup truck chasing a deer along 40th Avenue.
The driver of the pickup allegedly rolled down the window and shot the deer, the complaint said. A witness reported seeing Peterson and a second person run out into a field to retrieve the deer, the complaint said. The complaint alleged Peterson told law enforcement that he did not have permission to hunt in the area where the deer was shot.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Peterson pleaded guilty to unlawful transportation of wild animals, a gross misdemeanor. Court records said Peterson received a stayed sentence of 364 days in jail, a $500 fine, and two years probation. Peterson was also ordered to pay $500 restitution and forfeit the gun that was used in the incident. His hunting license would be suspended for three years, court records said.
The additional charges against Peterson were dismissed, court records said.
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One-Eared Elk Named Van Gogh A Good Sign For Elk Hunting
A one-eared elk, nicknamed ‘van Gogh’ is one of many elk visiting an area with a webcam on a daily basis. The number of elk is encouraging to hunters as this area was wiped-out by the hard winter of 2022-2023.
September 02, 20254 min read
Hunters must be mindful of elks’ keen sense of smell, but at least one curious cow elk in the Greys River area of Teton County is undeterred by residual human and horse scent at a game camera site.
Video taken by the camera shows the cow elk — missing about half of one of her ears — walking right up to the camera, sticking her face into the lens and snuffing away.
“I am nicknaming her ‘van Gogh’ for her missing ear,” Teton County resident Lacelynn Seibel, who set the camera up, told Cowboy State Daily.
It’s a reference to famed 19th century artist Vincent van Gogh, who sliced off part of his own ear.
Making Scents Of It All
An avid archery hunter, Seibel has been observing the Greys River herd since she moved to Teton County about three years ago.
She was somewhat concerned about how good her trail camera footage would be this season, because she left a lot of scent at the site when she installed the trail camera.
She rode her horse into the site and “it’s a little way back in there and we were both really sweaty when we arrived,” she said.
Like any archery hunter, she knows that even a small trace of human scent can be enough to ruin a good hunt.
However, older residual scent apparently doesn’t bother elk that much, Seibel said, because she’s captured great footage of van Gogh and other elk from the herd.
Alex Maher, an archery hunter from Jackson, said that matches his experience.
“I think you can walk by and minutes or hours later, they’re not going to pick your scent up off the ground,” he said. “The main part of elk smelling you is when you’re there.
“If you are upwind of elk, and they catch your scent, they’re out of there.”
Some hunters use “scent killer” formulas that can be sprayed on clothing or even used as laundry detergent.
Maher said he relies more on paying attention to wind direction. He carries a “wind-checker” with him while hunting.
That’s a small, squeezable tube of fine powder. When the tube is squeezed, it shoots a puff of the powder into the air, which will indicate which way the wind is blowing.
What’s With The Ear?
Like much of the wildlife in central and Western Wyoming, the Greys River elk suffered horribly during the hard winter of 2022-2023, when thousands of animals froze or starved to death.
Even so, elk are hardy and resilient, and Seibel said that from what she’s seen, the Greys River elk she tracks are making a strong comeback.
“The past two years, the elk have had so many babies, and they’re all so fat,” she said.
As to how the particularly curious cow elk lost half an ear, Seibel said she doesn’t know.
Van Gogh the artist sliced off part of his left ear on Christmas Eve in 1888, supposedly after a quarrel with his roommate in the south of France.
He reportedly wrapped the severed ear and delivered it to a woman in a neighborhood brothel, instructing her to “guard this object carefully.”
It’s thought that the bizarre episode stemmed from van Gogh’s exhaustion and possible mental illness.
Van Gogh the elk perhaps could have lost part of her ear to frostbite during that brutal 2022-2023 winter.
Seibel doubts that’s the case because the ear stub has a clean edge.
“It’s not typical what it looks like when they lose ears to frostbite, or get it caught in something,” she said. “It’s usually torn and tattered at the edges.”
‘It’s Just A Gorgeous Area’
Seibel said that as hunting season gets underway, van Gogh and the other cows in the herd are safe from her.
She prefers to shoot bulls.
“Last year I got a pretty good bull, so I’m holding out for an even better one this year,” she said.
Most archery elk hunting seasons kicked off Monday. Seibel said she prefers to wait until the middle of the month before venturing out. That way, she misses the initial rush and is more likely to have the fields and woods to herself.
And even if she doesn’t end up filling her elk tag, the experience is always worth it, she said.
The territory that the elk occupy have become one of her favorite places in the world.
She relocated to Teton County from the Midwest, where she loved archery hunting for elusive white-tailed deer. Archery elk hunting has proven to be a new challenge.
“It’s cool getting to know the terrain and how the animals use it,” she said. “It’s just a gorgeous area.”
H5N1 avian flu strikes South Dakota turkey farm
News brief
September 2, 2025
Topics
Marking the first H5N1 avian flu detection at a US commercial poultry farm since early July, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on August 28 confirmed an outbreak at a South Dakota turkey farm.
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The facility in Faulk County has 55,400 birds. The last detection at a commercial farm occurred in early July at a game bird facility in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Since then, there was a detection at a live-bird market in Los Angeles County and in backyard birds in St. Lawrence County, New York.
Detections often drop off in warmer months, but sporadic detections in wild birds, dairy cows, domestic cats, and wildlife have continued over the summer.
UK confirms 2 more H5N1 detections
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has been experiencing an early rise in H5N1 outbreaks in poultry, with a spate of detections that began in late July.
The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs over the past few days reported two more, one at a facility in Devon and the other involving captive birds at a location near Somerset.
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Dove hunting season is upon us
By Madeline Murray, Dillon Fuhrman, Skylar HeiseyfollowFollow “” to receive notifications about new pages on “”.
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – Dove hunting season officially started on September 1, and many passionate hunters wake up bright and early to head to the hunting sites.
Over the weekend, the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO) issued a reminder to the public saying hunting is strictly prohibited in parks and preserves.
YCSO also says it’s unlawful to discharge a firearm within a quarter mile of occupied structures without the permission of the owner.
Shooting across roads or railways is illegal and trespassing is not tolerated.
Lastly, remember to leave no trace as shotgun cases or wildlife remains left behind are prohibited and subject to penalties.
One family in particular gets up at two in the morning to head out before anyone else.
For the Kammann family, it is a longtime tradition that is passed through their families generations. Jeff Kammann has been following in his dad’s footsteps for about 50 years.
“I made my kids go through hunter safety. I’ve been through hunter safety, you know, know where your shooting and opening day of dove [hunting season], usually if there’s a lot of dove around, that means there’s a lot of hunters around,” Kammann shared.
The season ends at sunset on September 15. For more information on hunting laws and safety guidelines, click here.
Exposing the Big Game 