AZGFD offering reward for info on deer doe poacher near Tucson
Feb 5, 2020, 4:15 AM
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
PHOENIX — An award of up to $1,500 is being offered by the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Operation Game Thief program for information leading to the arrest of a whitetail deer doe poacher, the department announced in a press release on Tuesday.
The announcement comes after “fresh and partial” remains were discovered off Interstate 10 last week in Benson, Arizona, as only the editable parts of the deer were taken.
“This was the act of a criminal, a person without regard for the state’s most precious resource, its wildlife,” Tucson Game and Fish regional supervisor Raul Vega said in the release.
“Although there was an archery deer season ongoing, the taking of female deer is illegal. In addition, the remains were blatantly dumped in a very public place.”
Illegally killing wildlife can result in the maximum penalty of a $750 fine and six months in jail, which doesn’t include possible civil penalties.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Operation Game Thief hotline at 800-352-0700 and reference OGT #20-000198, which can also be done anonymously.