Poacher Arrested After Undercover Officers Purchase Illegal Elk Head 🤳

ven•a•tic: fond of or living by hunting

NORTH AMERICA’S MOST-READ OUTDOOR NEWSLETTER

The weekend might not be here just yet, but your favorite dispatch from the great outdoors is. 

So grab your coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and let's get caught up on the outdoor news and views from the past 24-or-so hours.

Here's what's worth reading about today:

THIS GUY PUT A BOW ON IT
POACHER ARRESTED AFTER UNDERCOVER OFFICERS PURCHASE ILLEGAL ELK HEAD

When it comes to solving poaching cases, you’ve got to think that wardens just love when the criminals do a lot of the heavy lifting for them. Whether that be by snapping pictures on their phones, bragging about it on social media or trying to move illegal animal parts in online marketplaces, the digital evidence, thankfully, lasts forever.

Such was the case in a recent case out of New Mexico when the state’s Department of Wildlife say they received multiple tips through their Operation Game Thief hotline. Those tips led wildlife officers into the Jemez Mountains, on to social media and into online sale platforms where cervid contraband was on the move.

The initial tips that came into the department were focused on a pair of headless bull elk that were carelessly left to rot. One tipster came forward telling officers that he actually had eyes on both of the bulls through his spotting scope as he watched two ‘hunters’ shoot them…

Citizens asked to provide information on wasted moose near Elk River: Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers are seeking information about a bull moose that was killed the evening of Sept. 14 or early morning of Sept. 15 near the Elmberry Creek/Gold Creek area east of Elk River in Unit 10A. Read the full story.

Former Deputy Wardens Call Out Pennsylvania Game Commission: Several former deputy game wardens criticized the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s decision to end the deputy program and called for the resignation of agency leaders. During the Sept. 25 meeting of the Game Commission board, deputies and union leaders said the board acted without transparency and that the decision will increase the safety risk for full-time wardens. Read the full story.

Disease affecting thousands of Wisconsin deer spreads to dairy cattle: A viral disease responsible for thousands of infections in Wisconsin’s deer population has now been detected in dairy cattle in Waukesha County. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection confirmed epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD, in samples collected from dairy cattle that were not producing milk. The cases come as wildlife officials continue to track a significant EHD outbreak among deer in southeastern Wisconsin. Read the full story.

WDFW seeks public’s help identifying men accused of trespassing, hunting bear near Oso: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police said they received a tip from an Oso resident that two men were allegedly hunting while trespassing on private property. The incident was recorded on camera Sept. 20, just before 7 p.m., according to investigators. Read the full story.

How Hunting for Deer Helped One Man Overcome His Wife’s Cancer Diagnosis: Though many years apart, James Hampton learned similar lessons about God, first through a cancer battle and later when he harvested a 150-inch buck on a hunting trip.

James and his twin brother Chad, now both pastors, grew up in a Christian home and were early followers of Jesus — and quick studies in the deer stand, too. As kids, hunting was a hobby that quickly blossomed into something more, and ultimately became the vehicle for their evangelistic mission today. Read the full story.

WGFD asks hunters to avoid harvesting big game with GPS collars if possible: On Tuesday, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) requested that hunters in the state avoid targeting big game with GPS collars. The agency said that, while it is legal to harvest collared animals, hunters are asked not to target those animals only for the sake of the collar. Read the full story.

🤢 This poor fella is carrying around a little bit of extra weight. What most certainly looks to be an infection or growth of some sort is quickly getting out of control.

What says you…?

The pull of the weekend.

📸 by @ericmattt

 Oh, and one more thing…