Below is a news release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. For 2022, Fiocchi partnered with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to increase the visibility of poaching incidents in an effort to reduce poaching nationwide.
Game wardens with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks are seeking information on an elk that was killed illegally near Big Sky in southwest Montana.
Wardens initially received a tip via FWP’s violation reporting hot line, 1-800-TIP-MONT, reporting that an elk was killed around 9 a.m. on Nov. 10 on private land without the landowner’s permission. The site was on Chief Joseph Trail in Big Sky.
Wardens located what was left of the elk near the road. The tenderloins and half of the backstraps had been left with the carcass and wasted. The elk was a spike bull. Harvesting spikes in this hunting district, HD 304, is only allowed for youth hunters and disabled adult hunters with a permit to hunt from a vehicle.
The person who shot the elk was reported as a white man in his 50s of average height, with a round face and a short graying beard. He was seen with six Hispanic men packing out the elk in white garbage bags. They carried the elk to two new Polaris Ranger UTVs—one black, the other camo—both with four-door hard cabs.
Anyone with possible information about this case is encouraged to visit myfwp.mt.gov/fwpPub/tipmont to provide details or call the FWP violation reporting hot line at 1-800-TIP-MONT. They may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.
(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)