2.14.2006
Cheney Lacked Proper Hunting Credentials (LATimes.com)
9:46 PM PST, February 13, 2006
By Nicholas Riccardi and James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Although he broke no laws, Vice President Dick Cheney did not have proper hunting credentials when he accidentally shot a fellow hunter at a private ranch last weekend, authorities said Monday.
Cheney, an experienced outdoorsman who had a valid out-of-state hunting license, will receive a warning citation for failing to purchase the required $7 stamp for bird hunting, the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife said in a statement. The stamp is a new requirement, and the department has issued verbal warnings to many hunters who were unaware they needed it.
In a statement Monday night, Cheney's office said his staffers had not known about the stamp requirement and that Cheney had sent a $7 check to Texas to cover the cost.
The accident occurred Saturday when the vice president wheeled to shoot at a covey of quail and accidentally sprayed his hunting partner, 78-year-old attorney Harry Whittington, with bird shot, authorities said. Whittington was moved out of the intensive care unit at a hospital here Monday and reported to be in good spirits.
"This was a hunting accident," said Gilbert San Miguel, chief deputy of the Kenedy County Sheriff's office. "There was no alcohol or misconduct."
But the incident has reverberated worldwide: "Cheney bags a lawyer," was the headline in the Glasgow, Scotland-based Herald.
(More ... Cheney Lacked Proper Hunting Credentials - Los Angeles Times) ¶ 19:06
By Nicholas Riccardi and James Gerstenzang, Times Staff Writer
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Although he broke no laws, Vice President Dick Cheney did not have proper hunting credentials when he accidentally shot a fellow hunter at a private ranch last weekend, authorities said Monday.
Cheney, an experienced outdoorsman who had a valid out-of-state hunting license, will receive a warning citation for failing to purchase the required $7 stamp for bird hunting, the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife said in a statement. The stamp is a new requirement, and the department has issued verbal warnings to many hunters who were unaware they needed it.
In a statement Monday night, Cheney's office said his staffers had not known about the stamp requirement and that Cheney had sent a $7 check to Texas to cover the cost.
The accident occurred Saturday when the vice president wheeled to shoot at a covey of quail and accidentally sprayed his hunting partner, 78-year-old attorney Harry Whittington, with bird shot, authorities said. Whittington was moved out of the intensive care unit at a hospital here Monday and reported to be in good spirits.
"This was a hunting accident," said Gilbert San Miguel, chief deputy of the Kenedy County Sheriff's office. "There was no alcohol or misconduct."
But the incident has reverberated worldwide: "Cheney bags a lawyer," was the headline in the Glasgow, Scotland-based Herald.
(More ... Cheney Lacked Proper Hunting Credentials - Los Angeles Times) ¶ 19:06
