The Arizona Game and Fish Department is investigating two separate incidences where poachers illegally used archery equipment to shoot and injure two mule deer bucks within the City of Flagstaff.
The first incident occurred at approximately 12:30 p.m. Aug. 23 near the YMCA, between Turquoise and Switzer Canyon roads. The poacher shot a mule deer buck in the head with an arrow and left the scene after witnesses saw him and the injured buck. OGT Decal
Game and Fish officers tried to locate the suspect and the injured buck, but were unsuccessful. There were several sightings of the injured deer days following the incident and officials are hopeful that the animal will survive.
The second incident occurred at approximately 1 p.m. Aug. 26. Game and Fish officials received information that another mule deer buck was injured and was severely bleeding near the corner of Forest Ave. and N. Turquoise Road. It appeared that the buck was shot by an arrow in its hind quarter.
Flagstaff police responded, but were unable to locate the poacher. Four days later, a local resident found a carcass of a buck near the intersection of Fur and N. Turquoise roads on a hiking trail leading into Buffalo Park. Game and Fish Officers confirmed this was the same deer from Aug. 26 incident due to the arrow injury to the hind quarter.
“Someone may have information about these cases and we need them to come forward,” said Game and Fish Officer Colby Walton. “Sportsmen and women pay for licenses and tags and contribute to wildlife conservation and management, but poachers do not. Poaching isn’t hunting; it’s stealing Arizona’s valuable wildlife resources.”
The archery deer season was open when the poaching incidents took place, but hunting within Flagstaff city limits and within a quarter-mile of any structure or residence is illegal under state law.
Game and Fish seeks the public’s help in bringing these individuals to justice. The poachers are illegally hunting and focusing on the mule deer that reside in Buffalo Park and nearby neighborhoods. The close proximity to humans has made the deer comfortable around people and easy targets for the poachers.
Anyone with information about the cases can call the Department’s Operation Game Thief Hotline toll free at (800) 352-0700 or use the online form at www.azgfd.gov/thief.
Callers should provide case number 15-002558 for the case involving the buck struck in the head and 15-002661 for the case involving the buck shot in the hind quarter. Callers may remain confidential upon request. A reward of up to $1,500 is being offered on each of these cases for information leading to the arrest of the violator(s). To learn more about Operation Game Thief, visit www.azgfd.gov/thief.