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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2019)
NEWS BlueMountainEagle.com Wednesday, February 6, 2019 A7 No criminal case in killing of local pet pig By Phil Wright EO Media Group Janet McKague expected the law to crack down on the hunter who killed Porky, her pet pot-bellied pig. Instead, the Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case. “This is just eating me up because I can’t get it out of my mind,” McK- ague said. “I don’t say this is justice at all. He should have got charged with something.” That hunter, Greg Osburn of Bor- ing, said he did nothing wrong. “There was no criminal charge. I killed a wild pig,” he said. “It’s 100 percent legal in this state.” Oregon considers swine feral if they meet certain conditions: They must be free roaming animals of the genus Sus; no one responsible for pigs has notified others within a 5-mile radius of their escape within five days; the pigs do not appear tame or domesticated; and the pigs do not meet the criteria for escaped swine. Osburn said the black pig he shot with his bow-and-arrow on Aug. 31 looked like a wild boar and was on private land where he had permission Contributed photo/Janet McKague This undated photo shows Porky the pot-bellied pig in his enclosure outside of Pilot Rock. to hunt outside Pilot Rock. He has been hunting in the Eastern Oregon region for years, he said, and this was the first time he spotted a pig at-large, so he shot it. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife pegs the state’s feral swine population at 2,000 to 5,000. The animals live in two areas, accord- ing to the agency: the southwestern portion of the state along the Califor- nia border, and through central and north central Oregon, including Gil- liam and Wheeler counties. That’s as close as they are to the Pilot Rock area. Feral pigs on public land are “non- game and nonprotected,” according to ODFW, and you can kill them if you have a valid hunting license. But most observations of feral pigs occur on private land. Hunters with permission to take other game on private land can kill feral pigs. Doing so, according to ODFW, “will be doing wildlife and habitat a favor.” Osburn said that’s just what he did. Oregon State Police out of Pend- leton investigated and did not cite Osburn. State police Sgt. Tim Brown said while the shooting was on pri- vate property, the landlord was absent. He also said neighbors know each others’ pets. The best move was giving the police report to the dis- trict attorney’s office for the consid- eration of charges. “We really weren’t sure how to proceed on this,” Brown said. McKague said the game trooper that investigated asked her if this might be an animal abuse case. She said all she knew was someone shot and killed her pig and she has yet to see any police report. The next she heard came Jan. 14, she said, when the victim’s advo- cate in the district attorney’s office told her the case had a court proceed- ing the next morning at the county courthouse in Pendleton. McKague and several family members came to court. She said she expected a trial or at least to have the opportunity to tell the judge her point of view. Instead, she said, they watched in silence as deputy district attorney Cody Hack asked Circuit Judge Jon Lieuallen to dismiss the case. Court records show the district attorney’s office filed paperwork to charge Osburn with a single count of sec- ond-degree animal abuse, but Hack subsequently asked the court to dis- miss the case in the best interest of justice. Lieuallen granted the request. McKague said she and her fam- ily could not believe what happened and they stuck around the courthouse waiting for an explanation. Her daughter, Kim McKague, said she finally got Hack to talk to them more than an hour later. Kim McKague said the deputy prosecutor told them he had no case, in spite of Osburn’s admission he shot Porky and the photos he took of their dead pet. District Attorney Dan Primus said this was a unique case, and for his office to prosecute, there must be a crime. Primus also said he felt for the McKagues. His family has pets, he said, and he would not want any- one to harm them. He said this was a sad set of circumstances. “We’re extremely sensitive to the family’s situation, and we wish there was more we could do,” Primus said. “But in this situation this is all we can do.” Osburn said he wrote Janet McK- ague a letter of apology. He called killing Porky an unfortunate situa- tion. He said it was ridiculous this got to the district attorney’s office. He claimed he spent at least $1,000 defending himself when he did noth- ing wrong. Kim McKague said her fam- ily is considering civil action. Janet McKague said their miniature pony, which shared barn space with Porky, died last month. “I think she done plumb died of a broken heart,” she said. Osburn said he wants this to be the end of the mess, but if they sue him, he will sign citations against Janet McKague for not keeping Porky on her property. He also said he killed prize elk year after year in the region and con- tributes to the local economy. Come elk season, he said, he will return. Pictures help capture memories of outdoor adventures. Contributed photo SHOOTING THE BREEZE Take a picture By Rod Carpenter For the Blue Mountain Eagle I ’m sorry to say it, but sadly it’s true, as you get older, your memory plays tricks on you. Or, if you’re like me, it has been playing tricks on you for years now. That is why you need to be taking pictures of all your adventures. Sure, we all try to get some good photos of an espe- cially big fish or animal we harvest, but we need to be taking pictures of the rest of our lives as well. Just the other day, I was looking through some old photo albums and saw pic- tures of outdoor adventures I had almost forgotten about, like the spring bear hunt where we didn’t see a single animal but there were at least 20 abandoned snowmobiles along the roads. I guess they were waiting for the snow to melt to get them. Pictures help capture those memories. I have some blurry pic- tures of a tent that collapsed on us at 3 a.m. from the weight of the snow. At the time, it wasn’t very funny. OK, it still isn’t all that funny. Another shows the side of my pickup kissing the tree we slid into. We had to use a handsaw to cut the tree down, but the truck wasn’t even marked. A single pic- ture like that can bring back memories of the whole trip. That’s why I encour- age you to document your experiences. No, they aren’t going to be Outdoor Life quality. In fact, most will be pretty bad by professional standards, but who cares. They are to preserve your memories so that when the hills get too steep to climb or the river is too far away, you can look back and remember. We all carry cameras with us every day in our phones. Take a quick pic of every- body eating dinner on the tailgate so you can remem- ber who was there that day. When you stick your truck up to the axles in the mud, take a selfie with it before you start digging, and maybe after too, so you can show your grandkids how to play in the mud. At the end of every year, I go down to Len’s Drug and print off that year’s pictures and put them in an album. Some folks like to save them other ways. Just remember that computers crash, cell- phones react poorly to water and CDs warp with time.If you want to save your pic- tures electronically, an exter- nal hard drive is the best way to go. Just an FYI, no mat- ter how good Apple says the camera is in your phone, if you ever do want to submit some pictures to a magazine, cellphone pictures will not cut it. All the publications that I am aware of will not accept cellphone pictures, only those taken with an actual camera. However you do it, take the time to record your adven- tures so that when it’s too cold, too hot or you’re just too old to be out there, you can sit back in your easy chair and relive a memory or two. P.S. Ten extra points if you caught the Dr. Seuss reference. We enjoy your comments and suggestions at shootingth- ebreezebme@gmail.com. Rod Carpenter is a hus- band, father and hunting fool. Your size in stock. Call for size & price. Your size in stock. Call for size & price. Your size in stock. Call for size & price. Your size in stock. Call for size & price. 99995 A TTENTION G RANT C OUNTY V ETERANS : Are you using or interested in learning about Choice Card Medical Care? Katee See your Grant County Veteran Services Hoffman Officer today for more information. Monday through Friday 10 am – 4 pm. 551 W. Main St., John Day, OR • (541)-575 -1346 Open Monday-Friday, 8AM-6PM • Saturday 8AM-5PM • Closed Sundays Call 541-620-8057 for an appointment 530 E. Main, Ste. 5, John Day, OR. JOHN DAY LES SCHWAB TIRE CENTER 100000
