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Dozens of waterfowl found shot, dumped in Belgrade area fishing access

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks investigating two cases of killed birds
Posted at 8:17 PM, Nov 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-11-20 13:36:21-05

BOZEMAN — Wardens with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks are asking for your help to find those responsible for killing more than 30 birds, then dumping them near the Gallatin River.

A sign now sits at the Cameron Bridge Fish Access Area.

It reads "due to carcass dropping and other offenses, this area is now under surveillance."

Twenty geese and 11 mallard ducks were found shot and dumped there with large portion of meat gone not harvested and wasted.

Wardens say they are unsure if one or more people were involved in this but do say this is well over the federally legal limit for a single hunter.

And this is considered littering, which results in fines and suspensions of hunting licenses.

On top of that, they add waste of game meat is also illegal and comes with similar consequences.

"You know it is a waste. Hunting is a sport that can provide valuable meat for your family and when that goes to waste it is really unfortunate," says Morgan Jacobsen, Montana FWP. "When carcasses are dumped there or when there is littering, it detracts from the experience for everybody and it shows disrespect for public land."

Just as recently, FWP wardens are still investigating a similar crime, two red-tailed hawks found shot and killed north of Bozeman.

These were discovered mid-October, hawks are federal protected and cannot be hunted.

If you can help wardens with either of these cases, you can get in touch with them immediately by calling 1-800-TIP-MONT.