SEMO student cited with littering for dumping dead ducks in frat house

A Southeast Missouri State University student who admitted to dumping dead ducks in a fraternity's residence hall entryway Nov. 13 has been cited for littering by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

As shown on a surveillance video at the residence hall released to a local TV station by the university's department of public safety, a man was seen dropping the ducks on his way into the building and then throwing 16 of them into the entryway of the K Greek housing building, which houses members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. The incident occurred around 4:20 p.m. Nov. 13. The video also shows the man driving a truck and exiting with the ducks. A passenger in the truck was shown moving over to the driver's seat and driving away after the ducks were left in the building.

After the surveillance video was released Thursday, the public safety department began receiving calls from local TV viewers who helped identify the man as a university student.

Doug Richards, the department's director, said the student came into the department late Thursday night with his family and gave a statement in which he confessed to dumping the ducks. Richards said the public safety department worked on the investigation with the conservation department, which after receiving the confession cited the student for littering.

Conservation department agent Kyle Booth said more charges may be pending for the people who shot the ducks because they did not dispose of them properly.

"The conservation department has talked with those individuals and as of right now there have been no charges filed, but they are possible," he said.

According to Missouri law, a wanton waste violation occurs when wildlife is harvested and the edible portion is dumped or discarded.

Booth said the people who shot the ducks are members of a different fraternity at the university, and that the student who dumped the ducks is not an official member but was rushing that fraternity. The students who shot the ducks claimed when interviewed by conservation agents that they harvested the ducks legally, Booth said, and at this time there is no reason for agents to believe otherwise.

The student who dumped the ducks told authorities he was acting alone, Booth said. There will not likely be any charges filed against the passenger-turned-driver who was present when the ducks were dumped, he said.

"He hasn't broken any wildlife laws as far as we are concerned," Booth said.

The citation for littering for the student who dumped the ducks is a Class A misdemeanor and can carry up to a $1,000 fine and a year in jail if he is found guilty, Booth said.

Richards said the university's judicial system has been notified of the incident and will determine whether to take any action against the student.

Booth said the student's name will not be released until the citation is filed with the Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney's office.

Richards said incidents such as the duck dumping are unusual at the university, although he does recall a similar one several years ago where dead animals were removed from the side of the road and placed on cars around campus.

"You just never know what will happen," he said, "in this business, there is something new every day."

For the conservation department, Booth said, dealing with the prank might have been better if it hadn't happened in the middle of deer season.

"This is a really busy time for us," he said.

eragan@semissourian.com

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