More than 100 animals poached in Utah since Aug. 1, wildlife officials say

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has seen an uptick in poaching incidents over the last month or so.

According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, from Aug. 1 to Sept. 9, 104 animals have been illegally killed. Nearly two-thirds of those were fish and roughly a quarter were unnamed protected species. Officials said several deer, elk, two moose, a bear, and a pronghorn were also poached.

During that period, officials said officers issued 849 citations. They continue to investigate other wildlife-related violations.

How Utah hunters can avoid poaching

“Hunters need to take responsibility for knowing the law“, said DWR Captain Chad Bettridge in a news release. “[They need to have] a current hunting or combination license, and also know what species and areas their permits allow them to hunt before they go out into the field.”

DWR spokesperson Faith Heaton Jolley told KSL NewsRadio that upticks in poaching incidents, like this one, are common in the weeks leading up to the fall season.

The reason could be that more hunters are out during this time of year.

“Some of them are accidental incidents, but some are opportunistic,” Jolley said.

Despite the spike, Utah is still weeks away from some of its most popular hunts. These include the general and rifle hunts for deer and elk. Both of those take place in October.

Reporting suspected poaching in Utah

“We just honestly don’t have a ton of conservation officers, so we really need people’s help getting information on these cases,” Jolley said.

If people think they’ve encountered a poaching incident, Jolley said they can: 

• get the suspect’s license plate information, and/or
• take photos, record the GPS location or gather other evidence to help conservation officers.

Jolley does not recommend confronting a suspect directly. She said confrontation may make a situation more tense and potentially dangerous.

“Observe from a distance … get as many details as you can, but then just report that to us and we will contact them,” Jolley said. “We don’t want to put anyone in harm’s way.”

The DWR said people have multiple ways to report suspected poaching including: 

• texting 847411;
• the Utah Turn-in-a-Poacher hotline at 1-800-662-3337 (staffed 24/7 and the quickest way to report suspected poaching);
• using the UTDWR app;
• submitting a report on the DWR website (officials say direct contact with an officer could be more limited with this option.)

Suggested other reading:

• DWR provides hunting season tips, reminders ahead of 2024 Utah deer and elk hunts
• A successful archery hunt begins with safety
• Utah’s Hogle Zoo welcomes a Western lowland gorilla infant, a critically endangered species

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