This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Wildlife officers want the public's help finding whoever poached a deer and damaged a Sanpete County farmer's hay field in the process.
The farmer notified the Division of Wildlife Resources on Sept. 7 that the deer had been killed and left to waste on his farm near Sterling. A wildlife officer concluded that someone shot the deer with a rifle sometime the week before and only took the deer's antlers, according to a DWR news release.
"This deer was shot and killed during the archery-only deer-hunting season," the release reads. "… Illegally killing the deer and wasting the carcass robbed the archery hunters of an opportunity to legally harvest this deer and keep the meat."
The farmer also reported that the poacher, or poachers, drove a vehicle over his hay crop, according to the release.
"That particular field was ready to be cut and harvested; therefore, the use of a vehicle to trespass and poach also caused damage to the farmer's crop," the release adds.
A reward is available for information leading to a successful prosecution. Anyone with information is asked to call the Utah Turn in a Poacher hotline at 1-800-662-3337. Requests for confidentiality are respected, according to the release.
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