Deer poached with a pellet gun in Pocatello

A mule deer doe was illegally killed near Pocatello with a pellet gun.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game wants information regarding the killing that it says happened about 9 a.m. on Aug. 1, near a residence on Fruitwood Lane off Bannock Highway.

After checking the carcass, investigators determined the cause of death was a pellet that pierced both of the deer’s lungs.

“The deer had otherwise been in good physical condition before its death,” Jennifer Jackson of IDFG said.

Violations include taking a big game animal during closed season, taking a big game animal with an unlawful weapon, and discharging a firearm in Pocatello city limits, according to Fish and Game.

Pocatello ordinances define a firearm as “any instrument used in the propulsion of shot, shell or bullets or other harmful objects by the action of gunpowder exploded within it, or by the action of compressed air within it, or by the power of springs and including what are commonly known as air rifles, BB guns, slings or flippers.”

Anyone with information should call conservation officer Tyler Peterson at 208-251-4515 or the Citizens Against Poaching hotline at 1-800-632-5999.

— Ralph Bartholdt