Cow moose poached, newborn seized

Two men have been charged with killing a cow moose and taking its newborn calf, which died two weeks later

Dustin A. Hayes, 22, unknown address, and Lincoln D. Lowell, 18, of Sandpoint were both charged with two counts of possession of unlawful taking of big game, said Greg Johnson, senior conservation officer for Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Boundary County.

The felony charges could result in a lifetime loss of hunting privileges, fines up to $10,000 and up to five years in prison.

Johnson was investigating the poaching of a deer over the Fourth of July on East Elmira Road in Bonner County when he learned about the apparent moose poaching.

Hayes and Lowell allegedly were together when one shot the cow moose on June 8 in the Upper Pack River area, Johnson said. It’s believed the pair then picked up the newborn calf, put it in a truck and drove it to a home a few miles away.

“Sometimes even poachers can’t bring themselves to shoot a newborn calf,” Johnson theorized about their intentions.

They left the calf for some people to raise, he said.

“People don’t have the proper means and it died after a couple of weeks,” Johnson said.

“You shoot a cow moose when she’s got a calf is really a sad thing,” he continued. “We had a really tough winter down there. The cow moose manages to survive, produces a calf and ends up being shot.”

A warrant was served on Lowell. Hayes remains at large. Anyone with information is asked to call Fish and Game at 267-7629 Hayes also was charged with poaching the deer on East Elmira Road, Johnson said.