Idaho Fish and Game looking for poacher who killed female moose and calf near Kamiah

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is looking for information in a poaching case where two moose were killed and left to waste in mid-July.

The agency said in a news release that a female moose and her calf were found dead along Forest Service Road 500 near the intersection of Forest Service Road 5125 outside of Kamiah in north-central Idaho’s Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. Fish and Game said it believes the animals were shot with a rifle from the road.

It’s never legal to hunt juvenile moose, and the season for antlerless moose in Idaho doesn’t open until Oct. 15 for a single hunting unit near Twin Falls. Only three antlerless tags are available, as moose numbers have declined in Idaho and across the U.S. in recent years. A hunter can only harvest one antlered and one antlerless moose in Idaho in their lifetime, per Fish and Game rules.

Fish and Game said only a portion of meat from the animals was harvested, with about 75 to 100 pounds of meat left to waste.

Killing moose without a hunting tag is a felony. The minimum fine for killing the animals during a closed season is a $1,000 fine, as well as a $4,500 civil penalty and mandatory revocation of a person’s hunting license, according to the Fish and Game news release.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to contact Fish and Game Senior Conservation Officer Aaron Wright at (208) 921-4172 or the Citizens Against Poaching Hotline at 800-632-5999, or report on Fish and Game’s enforcement tip line. Tips can be made anonymously, and tips that lead to an arrest may be eligible for financial rewards.