SWANVILLE — A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the illegal shooting of a deer in Swanville. 

On March 4, at approximately 6 a.m., the Maine Warden Service received a call about an injured deer off Oak Hill Road in Swanville. Upon responding, game wardens discovered a deer bleeding from two gunshot wounds. The deer had to be euthanized. 

According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, an initial investigation revealed that the deer had been shot once through the back legs and a second time through the bottom of its chest and then left to die. 

“This one is particularly bothersome, because the deer was shot twice,” said Greg Sirpis, chairman of the board for Maine Operation Game Thief. “Not only was it shot, but it wasn’t killed. So, the deer laid there for a while and suffered, until a game warden arrived, and the game warden had to euthanize the deer.” 

Nonprofit Operation Game Thief initially offered a $3,000 reward but raised that number this week given the nature of the crime. 

Sirpis said it’s essential to put a stop to crimes like these and to educate people. 

“We need to teach our youth the importance of ethics in the outdoors, and it’s very simple,” said Sirpis. “These kids are the future stewards of this natural resource, and if we don’t teach them how to manage it and protect it, this resource could be gone.” 

Anyone with information regarding this incident is being asked to call 1-800-ALERT-US or go through the Operation Game Thief website. 

“We may not catch you today, and we may not catch you tomorrow,” said Sirpis. “But rest assured, we are going to get you, and we won’t rest until we do.”