MANLY – Joshua Ray Sheckleton, 29, of rural Manly, was charged with unlawful take of a protected non-game species after shooting a trumpeter swan on Saturday, Sept. 24th.
Sheckleton was arrested after a DNR conservation officer responded to a TIP (Turn In Poachers) call. After speaking to everyone involved in the hunting party, Sheckleton admitted to having shot the swan as it flew by him along with a flock of geese at the Manly wastewater treatment lagoons just east of town.
In addition to the charges, the DNR will also be seeking liquidated damages of $1,500 for the swan.
Trumpeter swans are native to Iowa, but were considered extirpated since 1883 when the last nesting pair was documented at Twin Lakes Wildlife Area south of Belmond. An effort to restore trumpeter swans was started in the early 1990s. Since that time, 58 trumpeter swans have been shot in Iowa.
“It is important for Iowa hunters to identify their targets as well as what is beyond their target not only while hunting waterfowl but for all game,” said DNR Conservation Officer Lucas Dever.
