$2,500 reward offered in bighorn sheep poaching case
MONTROSE, Colo. (KRDO) -- Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is asking the public for help in identifying the poacher who illegally killed a desert bighorn sheep off Colorado State Highway 141 between Gateway and Grand Junction.
The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Society has offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to a conviction in the case.
According to CPW, wildlife officers responded on Monday, Oct. 31, when a rock climber reported that the bighorn ram had been shot and left off Highway 1421 between mile markers 147 and 148. The officers found the mature, desert bighorn and determined it had been shot at least 24 hours prior.
The officers were able to recover a bullet from the ram's shoulder.
“The ram was shot and left there with nothing removed from it,” said CPW wildlife officer Kevin Duckett. “There is a desert bighorn sheep hunting season in that unit, but it does not start until Nov. 1, and this ram was killed out of season and left to rot.”
CPW said the ram had a ⅝ to ¾ curl of its horns. Fines could exceed $25,000 for the illegal take of a bighorn ram over half-curl. Willful destruction of a big-game animal is a felony in Colorado and can result in a lifetime suspension of hunting and fishing privileges. Convictions could also result in fines and jail time, depending on the charge.
“Desert bighorn sheep are pretty limited, and CPW offers very limited opportunities for hunting these sheep,” Duckett said. “This act of poaching takes away from sportspersons.”
Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact CPW. To provide information anonymously, the public can contact Operation Game Thief by phone at 877-265-6648 or by email at game.thief@state.co.us.
Operation Game Thief is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife program that pays rewards to citizens who turn in poachers. A citizens committee administers reward funds in many poaching cases, which is maintained by private contributions. The board may approve rewards of up to $1,000 for flagrant cases.
