Conservation Agents Report Elk Poaching in Shannon County

State conservation officials are investigating the killing of two adult elk in Shannon County.

The Conservation Department said the elk were shot and killed and left to rot on Feb. 8 near the Log Yard area of Shannon Creek. Another elk poaching was reported in the same area in January.

One of the elk was a 10-year-old bull that was brought to Missouri from Kentucky in 2011. The other was an adult cow born in Missouri.

Conservation agents said no parts of either animal were removed.

A conservation division chief, Randy Doman, said it appears poachers wanted to shoot elk for fun or spite.

Doman said it was the fifth known elk poaching since the elk population was restored in Missouri in 2011.