Below is a news release from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. For 2025, Fiocchi partnered with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to increase the visibility of poaching incidents in an effort to reduce poaching.

A Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Police investigation into illegal elk trafficking resulted in a guilty verdict for a Yakima County resident.

Braden F. Tahkeal, 52, was sentenced Oct. 23 in Kittitas County Superior Court to one felony count of unlawful wildlife trafficking in the first degree. The court sentenced Tahkeal to 14 days in jail, with an option for home confinement per court guidelines. The court also imposed fines and restitution to include $2,000 to the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and $5,000 to WDFW.

In 2020, Fish and Wildlife Officers, working with special agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, received a tip from the public which implicated Tahkeal in unlawfully trafficking a large number of elk, potentially upwards of 42 elk. Reports suggested Tahkeal was selling trafficked elk in Vancouver and Portland, Ore. through online black-market chat groups.

After receiving the tip, WDFW officers began investigating the information and eventually went undercover, buying an elk from Tahkeal in central Washington. Black market prices can range from $800 to $1,000 for one elk, with large bull elk with trophy antlers selling for much more.

“Unregulated economic markets for game and non-game wildlife have lasting negative impacts, as traffickers target specific types of wildlife at times when they are most vulnerable,” said WDFW Police Captain Brad Rhoden. “We appreciate the hard work and dedication of the Kittitas County Prosecutor’s Office on this and other fish and wildlife cases.”

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.

(Photo credit: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife)