St. ALBANS – Police and game wardens are seeking answers in a case of poaching that left two deer dead Monday evening.
The two deer were killed on private property in a field along Snow Road, said Doug Rafferty, spokesman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
“It’s just another case of someone stealing from those who want to do it legally,” Rafferty said.
A licensed hunter discovered the body of a large adult doe Tuesday morning and notified authorities, triggering an investigation by the warden service and Maine State Police.
Drag marks made by the body of a second deer were discovered leading from the kill site to the road, Rafferty said.
Warden Jonathan Parker, the lead investigator, estimates that the deer were killed sometime after 7 p.m. Monday.
Rafferty asked anyone with information about the incident to call police at (800) 452-4664 or the 24-hour anonymous tip line operated by Operation Game Thief, a nonprofit organization that works with the wildlife service, at (800) 253-7887.
Rafferty said that the anonymous tip line, begun in 1989, is “coming into its own” as more outdoorsmen become aware of it.
More than 8,000 poaching tips have been made to the line, leading to more than 2,500 convictions and more than $70,000 in rewards paid to those whose tips resulted in legal action against poachers, according to the group’s website.
Poaching penalties include the loss of licenses and guns, as well as fines and jail time, according to Rafferty.
Officials said that, with much poaching going unreported, it is difficult to say whether it is on the rise in Maine.
Morning Sentinel Staff Writer Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be contacted at 861-9287 or at:
mhhetling@centralmaine.com
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