A dozen pronghorn were illegally shot near Kemmerer some time over the weekend, including several animals that were left wounded and suffering, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department reported.
The pronghorn (commonly called antelope) were apparently shot sometime between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, according to a Game and Fish statement released Wednesday. The wounded animals were killed by game wardens on site.
Somebody discovered the antelope on the Ham’s Fork Road north of Viva Naughton Reservoir, which is north of Kemmerer, and called Game and Fish early Sunday.
Apparently, several “mature bucks” were the primary targets, Kemmerer game warden Alex Poncelet said in the agency statement.
“This incident is extremely disturbing, as all of the antelope were shot and left to rot, and no edible portions were taken from any of the antelope,” he said.
Outdoorsman Outraged
The animals were shot in Antelope Hunt Area 93, but legal hunting seasons are only during the fall.
Avid hunter and prominent outdoors media figure Guy Eastman told Cowboy State Daily that Hunt Area 93 is a “good area” where many hunters seek legal antelope tags.
It’s also in a part of the state that was hit particularly hard during the brutal winter of 2022-2023. Thousands of antelope and other animals froze or starved to death, and herds there are still struggling to recover.
That makes the illegal poaching of a dozen antelope there all the more egregious, according to Eastman and noted Wyoming outdoorsman Paul Ulrich.
It was a “terrible act on an antelope population that’s just starting to bounce back from the bad winter. Most of them were probably pregnant does getting ready to have fawns so the actual poach count could be closer to 20,” Eastman said.
“I hope they catch the people and fine the hell out of them. For the cost of the tag plus preference points. It should be a fine of at least $20,000. We will see what the state and judicial system comes up with. Totally despicable,” he said.
“Absolutely disgusting and disgraceful behavior. Every sportsman in the state should be mad as Hell over this,” Ulrich said.
“Our pronghorn population is still reeling from the winter two years ago, and now some asshole kicks them when they’re down,” he added.
Antelope Were Already Under Stress
Wildlife biologist Rich Guenzel told Cowboy State daily that he was “totally appalled” by the killings.
Guenzel worked for Game and Fish from 1986 to 2011 and retired as the agency’s Laramie District wildlife biologist. He has a huge admiration for pronghorn and has studied them extensively.
This time of year, just as winter is ending and spring is starting, is a tough period for antelope as it is, he said.
After struggling through the winter, their fat and energy reserves are down, he said.
And pregnant does especially need all the energy they can spare, as they’re preparing to give birth to fawns, typically in late May or early June.
With all that going on, the last thing antelope need is the stress and fear caused by somebody blasting away at them, well outside of legal hunting seasons, he said.
“For every one that they killed, there were probably more that ran away. It sounds like they (the poacher or poachers) were focusing on bucks, but nevertheless, there were probably other animals that were likely chased around,” Guenzel said.
Tips on the case may be called in to Poncelet at 307-877-3278, the Green River Game and Fish office at 307-875-3223, the Stop Poaching Hotline at 1-877-WGFD-TIP (1-877-943-3847) or through the online Stop Poaching Hotline.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
