Multiple bull elk poached, abandoned in southern Colorado, wildlife officials say

Four bull elk were illegally killed on four separate ranches in Las Animas County, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said on Wednesday. The elk were shot on Sept. 13, 26, and 27 near Stonewall and Picketwire, the agency said.

One of those elk was shot and left fully intact, another was wounded and had to be put down by wildlife officers, another had its backstraps removed, and another had its head removed with no meat taken from it.

"These were senseless and disgraceful acts which demonstrates a complete disregard for Colorado wildlife," Jim Hawkins, CPW's assistant chief of law enforcement and operation game thief coordinator, said in a news release.

Poaching is a crime that CPW says harms wildlife, outdoor enthusiasts, legal and ethical hunters, businesses, and taxpayers. When the animal killed is big game, such as elk, or an endangered species, it's a felony under Colorado law.

Just last month, an extensive study done by the Montana-based wildlife conservation organization, the Boone and Crockett Club, found that less than 4% of poaching in the U.S. is discovered by law enforcement or wildlife agencies. That study also found that the financial cost of poaching, between lost fines and replacement costs for animals, is $1.4 billion each year.

"We have long known that poaching is a major problem in the United States, but we didn't truly understand the magnitude of the problem until this Poach and Pay research," Boone and Crockett Club CEO Tony A. Schoonen said of the research at a press conference. "With this defensible assessment of the Dark Figure, we can clearly describe the conservation cost of poaching and prove that poaching is not a victimless crime-not only do we lose individual wildlife, we are also losing a valuable public resource with a high cost."

Now, investigators in Colorado are offering a $1,000 reward for information about elk poaching that leads to a citation or arrest. Anyone who testifies against the suspect or suspects in a way that helps lead to charges against them would be eligible for a hunting license or preference points toward a specific hunting tag.

Anyone with information about the shootings can anonymously provide that information through Operation Game Thief at 1-877-265-6648 or by email to game.thief@state.co.us.