The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) needs your help to solve a bull elk poaching case in southeastern Kentucky. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation ($3,000) and Kentucky Elk Guide Association ($2,500) both offered a reward for information that leads to a conviction.

A KDFWR employee found the carcass on January 13, 2023, near Middle Ridge Trail on the Beaver Creek Wildlife Management Area in McCreary County, which is part of Kentucky’s 16-county elk zone. While elk hunting is allowed in portions of Kentucky during regulated seasons, it is prohibited in this county.

The bull was one of more than 40 elk translocated to McCreary County in the winter of 2022 as part of a joint effort (see photo) by KDFWR, RMEF and the Daniel Boone National Forest to expand the state’s herd. RMEF produced a short film to highlight the process. At that time, the bull was a spike but since grew to become a two-and-a-half-year-old, 3×3 when someone poached it. It was also wearing a GPS collar.

If you have any information about this poaching case that may help the ongoing investigation, contact Kentucky State Police Post 11 in London, Kentucky, or call KDFWR at 1-800-25-ALERT. Anonymous tips also may be made by texting “KFWLAW” along with a message to 847411 (tip411) or through the KFWLaw ap, which can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.

For 2023, Fiocchi partnered with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to increase the visibility of poaching incidents in an effort to reduce poaching nationwide.

(Photo source: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)