Idaho Fish and Game investigates after trumpeter swan found shot and killed
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BENNINGTON — Fish and Game is investigating a case after an officer found a trumpeter swan shot and killed over the weekend.
According to a news release from Idaho Fish and Game, the illegal killing happened in Bear Lake County on April 1. Senior Conservation Officer Kolby White received a report of a dead swan floating in the Bear River near the bridge on Pescadero Lane west of Bennington.
White got the bird from the river and found it had been shot, most likely that morning or in the middle of the day. Multiple rifle casings were recovered from the bridge, the release said.
“It is a senseless killing, and not the first animal to be shot, killed, and left to waste recently in this part of the region,” White said in a news release. “From a bald eagle shot in Bern last fall, to a mule deer in the Oneida Narrows last month, to this trumpeter swan — there have been several animals shot without reason and left to waste.”
White said he didn’t know if the incidents were related but believes people know about one or more of these cases.
“I am asking the public to report anything that seems out of place, even if it is not directly tied to one of these cases…it just might help,” White said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Southeast Region Fish and Game office at (208) 232-4703 or the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at 1-800-632-5999.
Callers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a reward for information that leads to an arrest.