Cash reward offered in poaching case; Wardens find decapitated bear in St. Croix County
May 1, 2013
By: Bureau of Law Enforcement
A Wisconsin game organization is offering a $500 reward to the person whose tip to the DNR conservation wardens results in the conviction of the person or persons responsible for a February poaching of a black bear in St. Croix County.
DNR wardens were called about a dead bear discovered on February 24. The wardens found the body of the bear, which had been freshly killed and missing its head, in a ditch just off Rice Lake Road in Somerset Township.
Wardens report evidence at the scene indicates the bear was illegally shot while hibernating inside a culvert west of Star Prairie on County Highway H, then dragged from the culvert and taken to another location where its head was removed. Since the bear’s weight was estimated to be 250 to 300 pounds, the wardens say it would have taken more than one person to remove and to transport the bear.
The Star Prairie Fish & Game organization is offering the cash reward, and says the tip must be made to the Department of Natural Resources. The organization will make its award through the DNR wardens. If you have any information related to this crime, please contact the DNR Hotline at 1-800-TIP-WDNR. Callers can remain anonymous.
If you have information regarding natural resource violations, please call: VIOLATION HOTLINE: 1-800-TIP-WDNR or 1-800-847-9367. The hotline is in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Trained staff relay reported information to conservation wardens. Anyone who calls the Violation Hotline or provides information can remain anonymous.