Idaho Officers Seek Tips After Two Mule Deer Does Are Shot and Wasted

Poaching is not hunting. Shooting deer and leaving them to rot is theft from every legal hunter, every landowner and every kid who is trying to learn the right way to do this.

Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers are asking for information after two mule deer does were found shot and left to waste in the Fall Creek drainage of Game Management Unit 66 in southeastern Idaho. The deer were discovered just off the shoulder of the road about two miles up the drainage. Both had been shot in the head with a small-caliber firearm and left a short distance apart.

The case came in through Idaho’s Citizens Against Poaching hotline on Aug. 19. Based on what officers have gathered so far, they do not believe the deer were hit by a vehicle. The shooting likely happened Aug. 16 or 17.

Anyone with information can call the Upper Snake Regional Office at 208-525-7290 or the CAP hotline at 800-632-5999. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward if the information leads to a citation.

Legal harvest has rules, seasons, tags and accountability. Waste has none of that. If somebody knows who did this, turning them in is not being anti-hunter. It is protecting hunting from the people who give every honest outdoorsman a black eye.