June 3, 2015
From BeamontEnterprise.com
James Moseley, 23, and Cade Ryan Moseley, 18, pleaded guilty to a federal wildlife violation in connection with the death of a bottlenose dolphin in Cow Bayou last year and were sentenced to one year of probation, including a ban on hunting and fishing, and will share $7,353.50 in restitution. The brothers received identical punishments, which also included 50 hours of community service and a $500 fine.
The brothers were fishing on Cow Bayou near Orangefield on July 26, 2014 when they spotted a pair of dolphins.
Cory Moseley allegedly shot at the dolphins multiple times with a compound bow. He did not strike either dolphin. Younger brother Cade Moselely was accused of firing the arrow that the U.S. government said claimed the dolphin’s life.
David Barlow, the attorney who represented Cade Moseley, said the “avid outdoorsmen” did not know shooting at a dolphin was a federal crime and called it a “dumb, youthful” act.
The juvenile dolphin did not die immediately, but swam away and suffered a “painful death,” Giblin said.