HELENA — Illegal killing and waste of game animals continues to challenge law enforcement across the state, with poaching cases reportedly doubling in Montana over the past two decades, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.
(Watch the video for more on what game wardens are seeing.)
Some recent cases included a black bear cub shot near Stevensville and three men charged in Big Horn County for killing several bull elk and mule deer.
“A lot of it is opportunistic,” Capt. Josh Leonard, a game warden for FWP Region 3, said.
Leonard says that with over a decade in the field, deer and elk are the most commonly poached species.
“When an animal is taken in violation of state law, it becomes unlawful, and that essentially is what poaching is,” he said.
Although harvest numbers were lower this year and fewer animals were moving due to a warmer season, Region 3 still saw a lot of cases.
Leonard said they saw “things like shoot from the road, waste and abandonment, over limit of game animals, hunt without a license.”
The resulting replacement costs and loss of unpaid fines nationwide are estimated to be more than $1.4 billion annually, according to a study from the Boone and Crockett Club earlier this year.
Despite these impacts, if the meat is still fit, it helps those in need.
“We are bound by statute that animals have to be donated to the food bank,” Leonard said.
The study also illustrates that around 95% of big-game poaching goes undetected.
Leonard said, “Poaching occurs every day; it’s a matter of if we catch them or they get caught or not.”
Leonard also says tips from the community are what help them with this issue the most.
“A lot of our cases are made because of the tips we get from the public and the people out there that are the eyes and ears on the landscape,” Leonard said.
You can call FWP's hotline at 1-800-TIP-MONT to provide anonymous tips.
