Reporting a Wildlife Violation
Operation Game Thief (OGT) is a highly successful and confidential reporting program that allows people to call a toll-free hotline 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to report wildlife violations. Poaching is serious business in Arizona. Poachers are not hunters—they are thieves, and they are stealing from the citizens of Arizona.
Rewards are offered for information leading to the arrest of wildlife violators. If the information provided is enough to warrant a citation or physical arrest, rewards will be paid immediately. If desired, the reward will be offered confidentially. Funding for rewards comes from fines and civil penalties assessed to the poachers. In essence, the bad guys are paying the good guys for the crimes they commit.
Contact Operation Game Thief:
- Call 1-800-352-0700, 24 hours a day.
- Report a violation online.
Cellular phone calls to the OGT hotline have proven to be extremely beneficial. An officer’s chances of apprehending the violator while he is still in the woods is greatly enhanced when the offense is reported immediately. If your service is provided by either Verizon or Alltell, simply enter #HUNT, and you will be connected to the hotline.
Rewards of $50 to $1,000 are offered in certain cases for information leading to the arrest of wildlife violators. Many states require a conviction before a reward can be offered. This is not so in Arizona. If the information provided is enough to warrant a citation or physical arrest, rewards will be paid immediately. If desired, the reward will be offered confidentially. Funding for rewards comes from fines and civil penalties assessed to the poachers.
