Two arrests in connection with cougar poaching

luce county cougar dec 2013
This trail camera photo taken in Luce County on December 8th shows the cougar that DNR officials believe was poached in Schoolcraft County last week. (Photo courtesy Michigan DNR)

Two downstate suspects have been arrested for illegally killing a cougar in Schoolcraft County.

Michigan DNR officials believe that the trail camera photo seen here shows the cougar that was killed. The photo was taken in Luce County on December 8th.

The DNR says it received a tip that the cougar was killed last week at a hunting camp in northeastern Schoolcraft County. Conservation officers and other DNR personnel found evidence of the cougar’s death. They arrested two suspects from downstate Bay County.

The DNR says after its investigation is complete, it will turn the case over to the Schoolcraft County Prosecutor’s office. The cougar is an endangered species in Michigan, and the penalty for poaching one is up to 90 days in jail and $2,500 in fines.

The DNR is also asking anyone with information about this case, or any other poaching case, to either call its toll-free Report All Poaching hotline at 1-800-292-7800 or to click here. Tips can be reported anonymously, and information leading to an arrest and conviction is eligible for a cash reward from the state Game and Fish Protection Fund.