Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officers are investigating two mule deer found shot and left for waste just south of Huntington.
The yearlings were found just up the dugway on Stump Flat Road.
A man who lives near the site where the deer were found reported that he didn’t see the deer when he went to work earlier in the day, but spotted them within 300 yards from his home when he returned around 5:30 p.m.
According to James Thomas, the investigating officer on the case, the deer were shot about the same time, one in the head and the other through the chest with a small caliber weapon.
One of the animals was missing one of its front quarters, but there no meat was removed from the second.
According to Thomas, something like this happening in the area is rare.
“In Emery County, this doesn’t happen very often,” Thomas said. “That is why I am shocked.”
Although poaching cases in the area are rare, they aren’t unheard of.
Only a month ago,a three-point buck deer was shot with an arrow north of East Carbon. The case is still under investigation.
Anyone with information on either of these cases is encouraged to contact the DWR UTiP hotline at 1-800-662-3337.