Rewards Offered in Washington Poaching Incidents

December 3, 2008

The Humane Society of the United States and The HSUS Wildlife Land Trust are offering three $2,500 rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for three separate incidents of poaching near Spokane, Wash. in October and November.

The Case:

According to a published media report, the first incident involved a young cow moose who was shot and left on Horseshoe Lake Road south of Pend Oreille County Lake on Oct. 24. In the second incident, a deer was illegally killed south of Cheney on Belsby Road near Long Road during the night of Nov. 14. In the third incident, a small whitetail deer was poached the night of Nov. 17 and left near the 13000 block of Scribner Road near Marshall. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials are seeking help from the public in tracking down the poachers.

"These cases illustrate the callous nature of poachers and their often flippant participation in serious crimes," said Dan Paul, Washington state director for The HSUS. "The Humane Society of the United States applauds the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for strongly enforcing anti-poaching laws."

Poaching:

Every year, thousands of poachers are arrested nationwide; however, it is estimated that only 1 to 5 percent of poachers are caught. Poachers kill wildlife anytime, anywhere and sometimes do so in particularly cruel manners.

The Investigators:

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the WDFW TIP Hotline at (877) WDFW-TIP, Monday-Friday during the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Anyone calling outside of normal business hours is asked to call the Washington State Patrol at (509) 227-6560.

The HSUS works to stop wildlife abuse across the country. Visit humanesociety.org/wildlifeabuse for more information.

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — On the web at humanesociety.org.

Since its founding in 1993, the Wildlife Land Trust has worked with private landowners to create 99 permanent wildlife sanctuaries where recreational and commercial hunting and trapping will always be prohibited. In addition, the Wildlife Land Trust works in collaboration with a variety of partners to protect many other vulnerable lands to benefit wildlife. Proud of its affiliation with The Humane Society of the United States, the Wildlife Land Trust joins in campaigns to protect wildlife from cruel and indefensible practices such as poaching, steel-jawed leghold traps, Internet hunting and canned shoots.