SALT LAKE CITY — Wildlife officials in Utah are asking the public to be on the lookout for poachers as they say more than 100 animals were illegally killed in August and the beginning of September.
Starting on August 1 through September 9 (the fall's early hunt season), conservation officers say they have found 104 illegally killed animals including:
- 9 deer
- 6 elk
- 2 moose
- 1 bear
- 1 pronghorn
- 60 fish
- 25 other protected wildlife
During that same time frame wildlife officers also issued 849 citations to hunters and fishermen.
"Hunters need to take responsibility for knowing the law, having a current hunting or combination license and also knowing what species and areas their permits allow them to hunt before they go out into the field," the Division of Wildlife Captain Chad Bettridge said. "We need your help," Bettridge expressed.
The agency says that during the early fall hunting season they received more than 200 tips through their reporting tools that are valuable for their investigations of poaching cases.
Currently, Utah only has 53 DWR officers for the entire state and they say they can't be everywhere.
"Please keep your eyes and ears open and report suspicious wildlife activity to us. With the information you share, we can enforce wildlife laws, which help with wildlife conservation and maintaining healthy populations and also keep our recreating public safe,” said Bettridge.
What can you do?
Officials say if you see someone who is potentially breaking Utah's wildlife laws, getting a license plate number is the most critical information that you can give their officers.
"Having a license plate number will lead us to the individual, so we can interview the person and start investigating,” Bettridge said. “Other helpful details include the type and color of the vehicle the person was driving, how many people were involved and a description of what you saw. And, if you can give us a GPS coordinate, that can guide us quickly to the area where the possible violation occurred.”
Investigators say that it is important to not try and confront people who might be committing violations yourself. Instead, you should observe from a distance and take not of as many details as possible.
How can you report potential violations?
While people can report wildlife violations through the DWR Facebook page, officers say that a more efficient way of reporting is to use the proper channels.
- Text officers at 847411
- Call the Utah Turn-in-a-Poacher hotline at 1-8000-662-3337 (The hotline is staffed 24/7)
- Use the UTDWR Law Enforcement app
- Report online through the DWR website
So far this year, officers have received 849 reports through their various channels. Another option available is reporting the incidents to the nearest local police department. They will then pass on the information to conservation officers.
