Law enforcement
Posted Tuesday, 03 January 2012 00:00
WEBER AND BOX ELDER COUNTIES — On January 3, 2012, a Box Elder County man pleaded guilty to Wanton Destruction of Protected Wildlife, a third-degree felony, for his role in the illegal killing of three mountain goats. Sentencing for the case has been set for Feb. 14, 2012.
On Sept. 10, 2011, Conservation Officer Mike Kinghorn received information from a witness about three mountain goats that were poached on the Ogden/Willard Peak Mountain Goat unit.
Officer Kinghorn and Officer Matt Burgess had hiked into the area earlier that morning and were able to quickly respond to the scene. The subsequent investigation and interviews found that the man shot and killed three mountain goats. The animals were allegedly left and wasted because one was too small and another had broken horns. Witness information led officers to believe that one of these mountain goat carcasses was intentionally pushed off a cliff edge.
Utah's mountain goat is a highly sought-after trophy, as demonstrated by high demand for the once-in-a-lifetime permit. In most established mountain goat populations, there is a high mortality rate among young and older age-class animals, making over-harvest a critical threat to maintaining appropriate population densities.
Witness information played a vital role in the successful prosecution of this case. In 2011, there were 234 Utah Turn-in-a-Poacher (UTiP) calls in the Northern Region alone. If you have any information that may help conservation officers stop poaching activities, please call the UTiP line at 1-800-662-3337. Rewards are available, and you may remain anonymous.
