A criminal complaint was filed Wednesday charging Keith Dean Maloney with one misdemeanor count of violating special regulations for threatened mammals. Maloney allegedly shot the prairie dogs March 9 in a field he leases across from his home.
Maloney was returning home from church when he said he saw the prairie dogs, "became frustrated and just snapped," according to an affidavit by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent filed with the complaint. He used a Ruger M77 Mark II .204 with a scope to shoot them in the head, neck, back or stomach, the affidavit states.
Maloney told investigators he had been dealing with prairie dogs on other properties he leased west of town where they had damaged his crops.
"He felt frustrated that they can do so much damage and there is little he could do about it," the affidavit states. "He further stated that he could not shoot enough of them under the permit and that he had a lot tied up in the leases for crops."
Though the prairie dogs are considered a threatened species and are protected under the Endangered Species Act, a permit can be obtained that allows a person to kill a certain number by shooting or trapping on agricultural lands damaged by the prairie dogs, but only between June 1 and Dec. 31, the affidavit states.
Maloney told investigators he did not have a 4-d permit for this property and even if he did it would not be valid until June.
The case has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert T. Braithwaite in St. George. Maloney is scheduled to be in court Nov. 3 for an initial appearance.
