While wildlife violations can happen any time of the year, a spike typically occurs during the fall hunting seasons, and conservation officers are hard at work patrolling to make sure hunters obey the laws.
From Aug. 1 to Oct. 13, conservation officers contacted 35,619 individuals and inspected the hunting licenses of 11,425 people. During those interactions, the officers detected 1,215 violations and discovered 102 illegally killed big game animals, including deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, bison and black bear. So far, 918 citations have been issued, and other violations will continue to be investigated or handled in the court system.
“Hunters need to take the responsibility of knowing the law, having a current hunting or combination license and knowing what species and areas their permits allow them to hunt,” DWR Capt. J Shirley said.
Conservation officers have also received 283 calls to the Utah Turn-in-a-Poacher (UTiP) hotline, which they say is incredibly valuable in helping them investigate poaching cases. DWR officers patrol huge swaths of land in Utah, and they can’t be everywhere.
“We need your help,” Shirley said. “Please keep your eyes and ears open and report suspicious activity to us. Working together, we can enforce wildlife laws and keep our recreating public safe.”
There are several things hunters who want to help fight poaching can do to fight against illegal hunting in the state.
Getting a license plate number is the most critical piece of information to provide to conservation officers.
“Having a license plate number will lead us to the individual so we can interview the person and start investigating,” Shirley said. “Other helpful details include the type and color of the vehicle the person was driving, how many people were involved and a description of what you saw.
“And, if you can give us a GPS coordinate, that can guide us quickly to the area where the possible violation occurred.”
Do not confront someone who might be committing a violation, just observe from a distance.
“We don’t want anyone to be put in harm’s way or to be in a situation that makes them uncomfortable,” Shirley said. “Report what you saw, and let us contact them.”
Calling the UTiP hotline is the best way to get information to officers. The hotline — 1-800-662- 3337 — is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"If you have a license plate number but you can’t get cell reception, it’s totally fine to wait and report the incident when you get home,” Shirley said. “A license plate number will lead us directly to the suspect.”
The UTiP hotline is not an information line; only call to report possible poaching and other wildlife-related crimes.
“Every time our officers receive a UTiP call, even if it isn’t related to a wildlife crime, they have to file a follow-up report,” Shirley said. “Filing the report takes time away that could have been spent fighting wildlife crime in Utah. Please call the UTiP line only to report wildlife crimes. If you’re simply looking for information, call a DWR office.”