WESTMORE — A Go Fund Me campaign has been started to raise reward money for an unsolved moose poaching case that took place in Westmore.
The campaign was started by Craftsbury Common resident Cindi Bollettieri.
Bollettieri has personally donated $2,000 to the effort, both through the Go Fund Me campaign and to Operation Game Thief, a program that pays rewards to citizens who identify poachers by calling a toll-free number or submitting information online.
A cow moose was shot from the road out of season at night on Saturday, September 23. Vermont’s regulated moose hunting seasons are in October, and are limited to a small number of hunting permits that are allocated through a lottery system.
After the moose was shot, it was attached to a vehicle and dragged on the road more than 11 miles to the town of Orleans. The animal was left by the side of Hollow Road off Route 58 in Orleans.
Officials say the cow moose was lactating, indicating that she likely had a calf with her.
“This action was particularly heinous, so I can understand why people are outraged,” said Col. Jason Batchelder, Vermont’s chief game warden. “The fact that people are giving to this campaign shows that Vermonters will not stand for poaching in our state.”
The fundraising campaign is available at www.gofundme.com/moose-poacher-reward.
“These poachers demonstrated tremendous disrespect for the law and for this moose,” said Col. Batchelder. “We’re asking for anyone with information about this incident to come forward so that we can hold the people who did this accountable.”
