Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers responded to a report of a deer carcass Oct. 7 near Moffat County Road 31, about 5 miles north of Craig. Someone shot the buck with a rifle overnight between Oct. 6-7 and left the carcass to rot.

The agency is asking the public to call Officer Schwolert at 970-706-9874 if they have any information about the incident. Witnesses can also report information anonymously through the Operation Game Thief hotline at 877-265-6648 or through the email game.thief@state.co.us.

Parks and wildlife views poaching as a serious and costly crime that takes game and fish away from legitimate sportspeople and revenue generated by licenses away from taxpayers. Poachers can face misdemeanor charges for harassment of wildlife, hunting big game without a license, illegal taking of wildlife, and reckless endangerment, among other charges.