Officers kill 8 escaped elk

BOISE – State game officers Monday shot and killed eight elk they said had escaped from a private hunting reserve and posed a threat to the genetic purity of wild herds roaming the Yellowstone National Park area on the Idaho-Wyoming border.

The five cow and three young elk were the first domesticated elk killed under an emergency order issued by Idaho Gov. Jim Risch on Thursday authorizing state agents to destroy the estimated 75 to 160 farm-raised elk that escaped in mid-August from the Chief Joseph hunter’s reserve near Rexburg. The reserve, owned by veterinarian Rex Rammell, charges clients $5,995 to hunt.

More than two dozen officers using aerial spotters had been unable to locate any of the escaped elk since the emergency harvest began Saturday. Idaho Fish and Game Department Director Steve Huffaker blamed the early lack of success on efforts by Rammell and his associates to keep the elk away from state shooters.

Rammell did not return a message Monday. In a weekend interview, his wife said they had been working to lure the elk back into the private enclosure before state officers could shoot them.