Elk antler poacher fined, loses hunting privileges for 3 years

JACKSON (WNE) — Just weeks before the legal antler hunt season on public lands opens May 1 for Wyoming residents and May 8 for others, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced stiff penalties against an antler poacher.

An Idaho man who illegally took elk antlers from the National Elk Refuge and Bridger-Teton National Forest and tried to sell them has been fined $6,000, banned for three years from Wyoming public lands and lost all hunting privileges worldwide for three years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a news release.

“The defendant pled guilty to a felony charge of the attempted transport and sale of more than 1,000 pounds of poached antlers, valued at roughly $18,000,” the release said. “Illegally collecting and selling antlers is a violation of the federal Lacey Act, which prohibits the transportation and sale of illegally obtained wildlife. The state of Wyoming also forbids offseason antler collection from public lands west of the Continental Divide.”

In Wyoming, antler collection is prohibited until May to protect winter-weakened wildlife from the stress of human presence. Antler collection is illegal at all times on the National Elk Refuge.

Fish and Wildlife worked the poacher case with the U.S. Forest Service and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. They announced the penalties with the hope of deterring others from flouting shed antler collection rules.

“These types of violations are an ongoing problem; as the market value of antlers keeps going up, we are experiencing more theft and trespassing on the Elk Refuge,” Fish and Wildlife’s David Bonham said in the release.

This story was published on April 16, 2024.