A buck with 24-inch, 3x8 antlers was hunted and killed before deer hunt season opened near Vernal.
Brian Clyde, an official with the Division of Wildlife Resources, said a teenage girl found the buck gunned down in a field the day before the hunting season opened on Oct. 19 in Naples, Utah.
“It was shot lower in the chest so it didn’t hit any of the vital organs," said Clyde. "It might have traveled a little bit of a distanced. It wouldn’t have just dropped where it was shot. The person who shot it just weren't able to pick it up quickly and take off with it. ”
The buck was non-typical because of its size.
“For a buck that reaches a 24 inch spread of the antlers, the restitution is $8,000, which makes it a trophy buck in Utah, which equals a felony, ” Clyde said.
The Division of Wildlife Resources welcomes any tips regarding the killing of the animal at wild life.utah.gov.
Morgan Pratt is a sophomore at Utah State University seeking a degree in Journalism and Communications.
