COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — A Kellogg man was sentenced in July after he pleaded guilty to illegally killing and wasting a trophy bull moose in Kootenai County in November of 2024.
A Kootenai County judge sentenced Raymond Black to six months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines and restitution on July 8. Black also lost his hunting and trapping privileges for all states except Hawaii.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game broke down how investigators tracked black down in a blog post on Monday. That post said the investigation started with a tip submitted through the Citizens Against Poaching hotline.
After Black shot and killed a bull moose without a tag, the department said he tried and failed to load it into his truck but got stuck in the snow.
When he hiked out to get help, a pair of hunters found him and doubted his story about how he came upon the moose. At that point, the hunters recorded Black’s license plate and submitted the information to the hotline.
As soon as Black’s vehicle was unstuck, he took off, leaving the moose to waste.
Moose are considered a once-in-a-lifetime species in Idaho, meaning hunters who get a tag and harvest a moose can only do so once.
With the information from the two hunters and details from a follow-up investigation, fish and game conservation officers executed a search warrant at Black’s residence and seized the rifle used in the crime along with other evidence.
Black was charged in Kootenai County District Court in January of 2025, initially pleading guilty before changing his plea in April.
The fish and game post noted that cash rewards can be granted to
