ARTESIA– The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is asking the public for assistance in solving a recent poaching case involving a buck antelope.

An anonymous caller reported the dead antelope to the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office who passed that information to Department officers. The head had been removed from the carcass and the carcass left in the field to rot

The carcass was located off of West Kincaid Ranch road south of Artesia approximately ¼ to ½ mile from the Agave gas plant. It appears that the antelope had been shot sometime before July 19, 2014.

Anyone with information about this poaching incident is urged to call Operation Game Thief at 1-800-432-GAME (4263) or Artesia Corporal Josh Waldrip at (575) 703-1101.

Operation Game Thief is offering a $500 reward for information leading to a citation or an arrest and callers may remain anonymous.