Poachers shot and killed cow moose and calf near Banks, leaving animals to rot
Idaho Department of Fish and Game officers found two more illegally killed moose in Southwest Idaho just one week after a string of moose-poaching incidents in the region.
In a news release, IDFG said conservation officers received a tip Oct. 18 about a cow moose that was shot and left to waste near Dry Buck Road 3 miles west of Banks, roughly an hour north of Boise. When officers went to investigate, they also found the body of a bull moose calf several yards away. They believe both animals were shot between Oct. 14 and Oct. 18.
There is no moose hunting season in unit 32 or 32A, where the animals were found.
It’s the latest in a series of illegal moose killings in Southwest Idaho, where three of the animals were shot and killed in Valley County a little over a week ago. In one of those cases, officials found the carcass of a bull moose. The two other cases were self-reported by hunters who told Fish and Game they had shot the animals after mistaking them for elk.
Fish and Game moose biologist Hollie Miyasaki said the shootings could be seriously detrimental to the Southwest Region moose population, which is already much less dense than moose populations in other parts of Idaho.
