CAP Hours Expanded for Fall

Live operators are manning the Citizens Against Poaching (CAP) hotline for more hours during hunting seasons. Citizens who wish to report a violation of game laws can always leave a message at the CAP phone number, 1-800-632-5999, if no operator is on duty. Extended hours began September 20. The CAP line will be manned on the weekends through mid-December. Weekdays are live Monday, Wednesday and Friday through October. If no operator is on duty, citizens are asked to do the following: - If violation is in progress, call the local sheriff's dispatch or ISP dispatch, who will then attempt to call a Fish and Game officer. - Leave a detailed message on the CAP answering machine with the reporting party's name and phone number where an officer can call at the most convenient time. Calls can remain anonymous at the request of the caller. The caller is encouraged to give the location of the occurrence according to the nearest town, road, milepost, county, drainage or GPS point. This aids Fish and Game in sending the right officer to the area. Information that aids Fish and Game in a successful enforcement effort includes: á Type of violation with species poached and number involved. á Description of vehicle (license plate, state, type, model, color, year, unusual markings). á Description of suspects (name, number, age, height, weight, clothes they are wearing, where they live, etc.) á Description of incident (who, what, when, where, how_ including how they know this information). á Current or last known location of poached wildlife. á Have this information ready when calling the CAP line or Police dispatch. Violations can be reported online, though this may not be the best method for guaranteeing a timely response. The success of the officer is directly related to the timeliness of the call (call now, not two days, weeks or months later), the amount of good information given, and people willing to leave a contact telephone number. Please do not become frustrated and hang up if no one answers the CAP line. It will be checked daily. The CAP hotline is for reporting wildlife violations; it is not a general information line. Hours were extended because more Idahoans have been using the CAP reporting system in recent years. Citizens can report violations of wildlife laws anonymously, if they wish, and rewards can be paid anonymously. CAP is a non-profit organization governed by an independent board of directors with funding through donations.