Law enforcement in Montana and Utah are seeking help to solve two bull elk poaching cases.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 6 game wardens received a call about a dead elk on the Biebinger Ranch four miles west of the intersection Lloyd Road and Warrick Road near the small town of Warrick, about 40 miles south of Chinook. Someone shot it and left it to waste.
If you have any information, call 406-942-2191 or call FWP’s 24-hour wildlife tip line at 1-800-TIP-MONT (1-800-847-6668).
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources conservation officers are trying to determine who dumped the remains of a bull elk at a pull-off on the east side of Highway 167 in Morgan County, located east of the I-15 corridor.
On Nov. 1, 2021, an individual reported seeing a male pull pieces of a quartered elk carcass out of the bed of a white, GMC pickup truck and then throw the meat onto the ground where it couldn’t be easily seen from the roadway. The male individual also dumped the head of the elk. Investigating conservation officers discovered that the four quartered pieces of the elk carcass still had all the meat intact, and there wasn’t an indication that the person attempted to utilize any of the meat. It appears the only thing that was kept was the skull capped antlers from the bull elk.
“Waste of wildlife is a serious crime,” DWR Conservation Officer Jonathan Moser said. “Many people hunt specifically to use the meat to feed their family, so when one person completely wastes the meat and just wants a ‘trophy’ from the animal, it can undermine public support for hunting as a wholesome recreational activity and important wildlife management tool.”
If you have any information about this case, call the UTiP Hotline at 1-800-662-3337.
(Photo credit: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks)