Eastmans' Official Blog | Mule Deer, Antelope, Elk Hunting and Bowhunting Magazine | Eastmans' Hunting Journals
“Hey bud, guess how many miles we’ve put on today looking for a buck on public?”
“I don’t know, a lot.”
“Yeah, odometer says 253 miles and that doesn’t count how many we’ve put on our boots.”
“Wow! I’ve never seen so few antelope in this region and the fact that we haven’t seen a single buck on public is disturbing.”
If you’ve hunted northeastern Wyoming for antelope on public land in the past couple of seasons you’ve probably seen the same thing that I have and had the same conversation as above. The recent downturn in pronghorn numbers in many areas of the state makes the poaching and waste of four animals, three does and a buck, egregious in the extreme. I’ll spare you my internal rant but you can imagine how incidents like this make my blood boil!
The antelope in question were discovered in the Weston Hills Recreation Area north of Gillette, Wyoming on October 20th. There was no meat taken from the carcasses which makes this crime even more vexing.
The investigating Game Warden estimates that the pronghorns were killed around October 15th-16th, adding that there were a large number of hunters in the area on those dates and urging anyone with possible information to contact the STOP POACHING hotline at 1-877-943-3847. Information leading to a conviction is eligible for a reward of up to $5000 from the Wyoming Wildlife Protector’s Association.
SOURCE:
I lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming for a number of years working for a bridge company, it was and still is one of God’s great creations. Wyoming is a sportsman’s paradise and I know the area where this poaching took place. Every time I read a story about poaching no matter what state it takes place in it makes my blood boil. In my opinion until they start throwing the book at these non sportsman by throw the book I mean heavy fines, take there hunting and fishing license privilege’s away for life, and jail time. If all these offenders keep getting is a slap on the wrist this type of behavior will continue. It is also my opinion that IF YOU CAN’T BUY A HUNTING OR FISHING LICENSE BECAUSE YOU OWE BACK CHILD SUPPORT, SHOULDN’T THE OFFENDER/OFFENDERS THAT ARE CAUGHT POACHING FACE THE SAME FATE!!!