Poacher wounds turkey, then wrestles it in cemetery, New Hampshire video shows

A poacher was caught on camera wrestling a wounded turkey in a cemetery in New Hampshire, authorities said.

The incident was recorded at about 10 a.m. May 11 in Loudon, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Law Enforcement Division said in a Facebook post.

Someone dropped off the poacher in a “late-model, black full-sized pickup” truck, and the person shot the wild bird in the cemetery, wildlife officers said.

A hunter recorded the poacher struggling with the injured bird behind a headstone, officials said.

Authorities are trying to identify the poacher as it’s illegal to hunt in cemeteries.

There were people visiting the cemetery when the bird was shot, officers said.

Anyone with information can contact the wildlife agency at 603-271-3361. Anonymous tips can be made anonymously on the NH OGT app.

Hundreds of people commented on the Facebook post.

“That ... is NOT hunting,” one person commented.

Helena Wegner

McClatchy DC

Helena Wegner is a McClatchy National Real-Time Reporter covering the state of Washington and the western region. She’s a journalism graduate from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She’s based in Phoenix.