Colorado Parks and Wildlife is asking the public for help in identifying the person who killed a moose in the Dunckley Flat Tops Area near Hayden over the weekend.

Wildlife officers found the bull moose carcass Sunday, October 17. The person who illegally shot the animal did not attempt to field dress it and left the meat to rot.

“I think an elk hunter mistook the moose for an elk. After realizing their mistake, they panicked,” said District Wildlife Manager Justin Pollock, who was tipped off about the violation. 

"The violation for this crime may include a felony, and felonies change people's lives. I don't want that, but I do want to ensure justice for our wildlife,” Pollock said. "It's not too late to contact me."

CPW is asking the public to call DWM Pollock at 970-629-1247 if they observed anything suspicious October 16 along Austrian Creek in the Dunckley Flat Tops Area, approximately nine miles southwest of Oak Creek.

To provide information anonymously, the public can contact Operation Game Thief by phone at 877-265-6648 or by email at game.thief@state.co.us. 

Poaching is a serious and costly crime. It robs legitimate sportspeople of game and fish, robs businesses and taxpayers of revenues generated by hunting and fishing, and robs all of us of a valuable natural resource that makes Colorado so special: our wildlife.

Operation Game Thief is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife program that pays rewards to citizens who turn in poachers. A citizens committee administers reward funds in many poaching cases, which is maintained by private contributions. The board may approve rewards of up to $1,000 for flagrant cases like this one.