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Female hunter, 36, who bragged about killing and skinning a husky puppy after mistaking him for a wolf, pleads not guilty after being charged with animal cruelty
- WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
- Amber Rose Barnes, 36, who last month shot and killed a six-month-old Husky puppy because he thought it was a wolf, has denied an animal cruelty charge in court
- Barnes – labeled the ‘Montana Butcher’ – caused a huge backlash after posting photos of herself on Facebook posing with the dead dog she skinned
- To make matters worse, she defended her actions – she said she would do the same again because the dog ‘attacked her’
- In court on Friday morning, Barnes pleaded not guilty to the felony citation of animal cruelty
- She has been assigned a public defender and will return to court in northern Montana on December 20
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A Montana woman who sparked outrage when she shot, killed and skinned a six-month-old puppy she believed to be a wolf pleaded not guilty after being charged with a felony for animal cruelty.
Amber Rose Barnes, 36, of Martin City, was teased by thousands when people immediately noticed that the animal she killed was a Siberian husky puppy.
To make matters worse, she defended her actions.
“During this time, safety was my top priority. This animal growled howling and came towards me as if it were going to eat me.
“Yeah, I made a mistake… anyway, yes, I still would have shot it because it was aggressive and coming straight at me!” she said.
Barnes avoided being charged with a hunting offense — because “the incident did not involve an animal under the agency’s jurisdiction,” the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks confirmed.
Barnes appeared in court on Friday morning and is due to appear in court again on December 20.
The disturbing and graphic images show Amber Rose from Miller City, Montana, showing off the skinned husky
License to kill: This is the original post Barnes shared with friends. She said she believed the animal was a ‘wolf puppy’
Barnes defended the murder in a follow-up post, telling Facebook users she would do it again
Barnes caused anger online when she posted a series of graphics of herself with the lifeless pup online.
Along with a collage of five photos of herself with the dead dog, she wrote: “So this morning I went on a solo predator hunting for a black bear, but got the chance to get another predator wolf pup. 2022 was a great feeling to text my husband and say I just smoked a wolf pup #firstworld #onelesspredatorMT.”
That morning, Barnes ventured into Flathead National Forest in Doris Creek, sixty miles south of Glacier National Park, in search of a black bear when she came across what she thought was a wolf.
In one particularly gruesome photo, Barnes posed with the Husky sprawled in her flatbed truck while smiling as she slammed the dog’s lifeless head and held her rifle.
Even when her mistake was established, Barnes defended her actions and told her Facebook audience that she would kill the dog again.
Rose was accompanied on the hunting trip in Montana’s Flathead County with her hunting partner Frank Tallent, who launched a forceful tirade in defense of Barnes
Barnes’ partner Frank Tallent also jumped on her defense when the online crowd descended on her and called her the “Montana Butcher.”
“Mistakes happen big f***ing deal,” he wrote.
“Yes, my girlfriend was hunting and shot a dog that had been dumped in the woods.”
The deceased puppy turned out to be one of nearly a dozen Husky puppies left in the woods.
Many of the puppies had parvovirus, an often fatal disease for dogs.
In the wake of the shooting, authorities were trying to determine if Barnes had a wolf hunting license, which she said she had.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks later confirmed to Fox News that Barnes had purchased the correct license.
In Montana, wolf hunting is legal with a permit. A person may legally kill or capture 20 wolves per season.
Barnes did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Mail.
In Montana, wolf hunting is legal with a permit. A person may legally kill or capture 20 per season. Above a gray wolf
Barnes is an experienced hunter who lives in the small town of Martin City in Montana