OLYMPIA – Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) along with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Police are asking the public for information on two incidents where someone shot and killed a ram bighorn sheep. Non-governmental organizations are offering between $30,000 to $45,000 in rewards for information leading to a conviction for each case.
The first incident occurred east of Riggins in Idaho County, Idaho when a poached bighorn sheep ram was located by a sportsman above Big Salmon Road near Partridge Creek. The ram had been shot between November 20-22 with no attempt to recover the animal.
The second incident occurred outside Asotin, in Asotin County, Wash. on or around Dec 13, and involves the unlawful killing of a yearling bighorn ram that was shot and left in the Peola Game Management Unit (GMU 178). Investigators believe the animal was shot in the middle of the night between Friday, Dec. 12 and Saturday, Dec. 13.
The agencies don’t believe the two incidents are connected currently.
IDFG encourages anyone with relevant information about these incidents to contact the Idaho Citizens Against Poaching hotline at (800) 632-5999 or the Idaho Fish and Game Clearwater Regional Office at (208) 799-5010. To provide information on the Asotin case contact WDFW at 877-933-9847, email WDFW’s poaching tip email, or send a text tip to 847411. The public can also report online on WDFW’s website. Tips can be provided anonymously.
Illegally killing a Bighorn Sheep in Washington is a gross misdemeanor (RCW 77.15.410) punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000 per violation. Additionally, a penalty of $4,000 (doubles if it was shot with the aid of artificial light) per animal can be assessed upon conviction, along with hunting privileges being suspended up to two years.
Various groups and private citizens are contributing to a collective total reward of over $60,000 for information leading to convictions in either of these cases. Washington Wild Sheep Foundation, Hunter Nation, and the Idaho Wild Sheep Foundation are among the groups offering rewards in addition to private donations.
Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) are the largest wild sheep in North America and are a priority species under WDFW’s Priority Habitat and Species Program. Priority species require protective measures for survival due to their population status, sensitivity to habitat alteration, and/or recreational, commercial, or tribal importance. Bighorn sheep hunting opportunity in Washington is a once in a lifetime harvest opportunity, limited to permit-only hunting.
At the beginning of the 1800s, there were an estimated 1.5 to 2 million bighorn sheep in North America. Today less than 70,000 remain. Historic overhunting, habitat loss and, most significantly, the spread of the pneumonia pathogen from domestic sheep to wild herds led to the extirpation of bighorns from Washington by the mid-1920s. Reintroduction efforts by hunting and conservation organizations and state game managers have restored the native sheep to Washington but the threat of disease still looms over the long-term success of bighorn restoration efforts.
WDFW Police works to protect the public’s safety and to preserve, protect and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.