CEDAR CITY, Utah — A Cedar City man has been charged in connection with illegally killing a trophy bull elk in 2019.
The man was charged in Iron County’s 5th District Court with wanton destruction of protected wildlife, a third-degree felony.
DWR conservation officers received information on the poaching hotline about a trophy bull elk that had been poached a few months earlier. Officers later served a search warrant at the home of the man who’d been identified as illegally killing the elk.
During the search, they discovered the antlers of the bull elk in the garage of the home. After interviewing the man, officers learned that he’d killed the elk on Sept. 7, 2019, in the southwest desert of Hamblin Valley, near the border of Beaver and Iron Counties.
He shot the bull elk with archery equipment after dark, which is illegal. He didn’t have an elk permit. The bull elk was a 6x6, making it a trophy animal.
“We really appreciate the public’s assistance in reporting illegal wildlife activity,” DWR Conservation Officer Kody Jones said. “It greatly helps us in protecting Utah’s fish and wildlife, and in upholding the laws that help manage and maintain healthy populations.”
If the man is convicted and sentenced, he could face fines and possible jail time as well as losing the right to get a hunting license.
