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Sam Penrod reporting A shooting spree in a Utah canyon, has killed more than a dozen deer-- all shot out of season. At least 13 deer were shot and killed, and investigators are looking for the culprits.
Of the 13 deer killed by the poachers, almost all of them were does and fawns. Even a veteran wildlife officer calls it the worse case of poaching he's ever seen.
All along the Diamond Fork Canyon road, there are dead deer, all of them shot to death by poachers.
Vic Layton, Division of Wildlife Resources: "We've had the shooting and killing of so far 13 deer that we found in Diamond Fork Canyon."
Wildlife officers were alerted to the poaching on Sunday afternoon. They believe it happened sometime Saturday or early Sunday and was well beyond a bad case of buck fever.
Vic Layton, Division of Wildlife Resources: "This time of year we don't even have any hunting season, so it's out of season."
Wildlife investigators say all of the deer appear to have been shot right from the road.
Vic Layton, Division of Wildlife Resources: "We think there probably is more like an animal that's wounded and runs far enough away. We just haven't found it yet."
Of the 13 deer killed, eight were does, three were yearling fawns and two were mature bucks.
Vic Layton, Division of Wildlife Resources: "Hurts everybody that likes to hunt and look at wildlife and have them around."
In all his years on the job, he's never seen a felony poaching case as bad as this.
Vic Layton, Division of Wildlife Resources: "It's an indiscriminate, useless type of killing. There's no valid reason that an average person could think of a reason for this."
Anyone with information into who is responsible for the poaching should call the poaching hotline at 1-800-662-DEER. There is a one thousand dollar reward.
