Game Wardens with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks need help finding the person(s) responsible for illegally shooting an elk near White Sulphur Springs on October 11, 2021.
Warden Tanner Mitchell reports on that morning that someone shot and wounded the elk calf on private land along the Smith River road near Sheep Creek between the hours of 7:30 and 10:30 a.m., then abandoned. The calf was later euthanized.
Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call the FWP violation reporting hotline at 1-800-TIP-MONT. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
Some 400 miles to the northwest in southeast corner of British Columbia, Canada, wildlife officials are dealing with a rash of poaching cases. The East Kootenay Conservation Officer Service reports someone poached killed two 5-by-5 bull elk and one grizzly bear north of the small town of Elkford. Hunters may take 6-by-6 elk but not 5-by-5 elk.
“We really want to focus on that group of people who are shooting and leaving animals to waste. We don’t want that animal to go to waste. We want to do all that we can. It happens every year, but this is one of the worst years I’ve ever experienced,” Patricia Burley, East Kootenay conservation officer, told MyEastKootenayNow. “The number for this year, we have not totaled, but we’re looking at approximately 30 self-reported five-point bull elk as well as those that have been found.”
If you have any information that can help conservation officers with any British Columbia cases, call 1-877-952-7277.
(Photo source: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks)