News Release: AZGFD seeks public's help in poaching of seven elk, two bighorn sheep

Arizona Game and Fish Department sent this bulletin at 08/05/2025 05:02 PM MST

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For immediate release, Aug. 5, 2025
Arizona Game and Fish Department

Contact:
Stevie Kelso, Public Affairs Community Liaison, Flagstaff
skelso@azgfd.gov
928-890-7495

AZGFD seeks public's help in poaching of seven elk, two bighorn sheep

Up to $20,000 reward available for information leading to arrest in case

EAGAR, Ariz. — The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) is seeking information about two separate poaching incidents in Game Management Unit 1 near Big Lake in the White Mountains.

July 20: Three cow elk were discovered shot and left to waste near the intersection of Forest Roads 249E and 24. AZGFD officials believe the incident took place around 8:15 p.m.
July 27: Four more elk — three cows and one bull — were discovered shot and left to waste off State Routes 273 and 261 near the turnoff to the campground at Big Lake. AZGFD officials believe the incident took place around 9:30 p.m. In addition, two bighorn sheep rams were discovered shot and left to waste that same day. The animals were found along Forest Road 249 near Three Forks, Ariz.

“If anyone has information regarding these despicable acts, please report it,” said Kalyn Miller, wildlife manager. “This incident is the definition of poaching. Poachers are thieves who steal Arizona’s most precious natural resource. Not only did they kill six cow elk, but these poachers killed the future offspring that the elk would have produced.”

Anyone with information about this case can call AZGFD’s Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-352-0700 and refer to case #25-002276.

Callers can remain anonymous upon request and may be eligible for a reward up to $20,000 for information that leads to an arrest in this case through the Operation Game Thief program, the Arizona Elk Society, and the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society.

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The Arizona Game and Fish Department receives no general fund tax dollars. The majority of funding to manage more than 800 native wildlife species comes from Arizona's hunters and anglers.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department receives Federal assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and thus prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age and sex pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. To request an accommodation or informational material in an alternative format or to file a discrimination complaint please contact the Director’s Office at (602) 942-3000 or by mail at 5000 West Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086. Discrimination complaints can also be filed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Diversity and Inclusive Workforce, Attention: Public Civil Rights and Disability Coordinator, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041.

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