Idaho Fish and Game Clarification

Two weeks ago, an Idaho Fish and Game officer was quoted in an Idaho newspaper story comparing the impacts of poachers and wolves on other big game species. The officer suggested that poachers kill as many or more big game animals as wolves. We do not know whether or not that is true. We do know that poaching occurs throughout our state and that illegal harvest does impact big game populations. We also know that wolf predation also impact other species; in some areas those impacts are greater than in others. Idaho Fish and Game does not have empirical data to back up the officer's comparison.