It’s opening day of elk season in Utah and Jeff Quibell witnessed something peculiar on the first day of the hunt.
What Quibell saw was another hunter take a shot at a bull elk and retreat after realizing someone saw what he did.
“Once the guy that shot the elk knew somebody was on to him, he then took his orange [vest] off and started walking out of the canyon,” Quibell told KUTV.
Quibell did the right thing. He quickly dialed up the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and spent the better part of opening day trying to track down the poacher.
Kudos, Jeff.
What some of you may not know is that in the state of Utah, through their poaching reporting program, “if you provide information that leads to the successful arrest and prosecution of a poacher, you may receive a reward for your efforts.”
According to their website, those rewards can come as either cash rewards or reward permits, allowing the whistle-blower the opportunity to hunt the same species that was taken by the poacher.
In this case, the latter is what Quibell was hoping for.
After further investigation, officials decided to lower the charges to unlawful taking, a misdemeanor charge, rather than felony poaching. Capt. Mitch Lane of the Department of Wildlife Resources stated that they determined that the elk had been shot accidentally and the poacher had eventually turned himself in after escaping both Quibell and the pursuing officers on the day of the incident.
“We certainly don’t want to penalize people that do the right thing if they make an honest mistake,” Lane said.
Given these circumstances, Quibell was no longer eligible for the permit reward he had hoped so badly for. By law, without a felony conviction the Department cannot issue hunting permits as a reward.
“Our hands are tied,” Capt. Lane said. “We appreciate his efforts and I hope maybe he gets some other satisfaction out of doing the right thing and reporting what he knew to be a wildlife violation.”
The Department went on to extend a $1,000 reward for the time spent that day trying to track down the poacher, to which Quibell scoffed.
“I don’t want their money reward. I would like the tag,” he said.
Of course you would, Jeff. But the law wouldn’t allow it.
Unless, of course, you are suggesting the DWR bend the same very laws you worked so hard to uphold that day.
Take the money and know you did a great thing not only for the department, but for the state of Utah, the elk populations and for ethically-minded hunters everywhere.