Todd and Wren Gardner figured their bull elk had simply died of natural causes when they found him dead at Valley View Elk Farm in Monroe on Thursday. It wasn't until they looked closer that they discovered a bullet wound, turning what seemed like a sad but ordinary loss into a criminal investigation that now carries a $6,000 reward and the possibility of felony charges.
The 3-year-old domestic bull elk was found dead on October 1 at the Sevier County farm, according to ABC4 Utah. Sevier County Sheriff's deputies recovered bullet fragments from the animal, confirming it had been shot rather than dying of natural causes, as the Gardners first believed, per a report from KSL TV.
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food is now leading the investigation alongside local law enforcement, and most of the $6,000 reward for information is coming from the state agency, with the Gardners chipping in additional funds, the station's report notes. Because domesticated elk are legally classified as livestock in Utah rather than wild game, the case falls under agricultural crime statutes instead of wildlife poaching law.
A Rare Crime in Utah's Elk Country
Stuart Barney of the UDAF Domestic Elk Program said he hadn't heard of anyone shooting a domestic elk on a private Utah farm in at least seven years, per the same account. Barney also estimated that had the juvenile bull reached full maturity, it would have been worth between $10,000 and $17,000, underscoring the financial hit to the Gardners, who are relatively new to the domestic elk industry.
Utah has regulated captive elk as agricultural livestock since the Domesticated Elk Act took effect in 1997, shifting oversight of farms like Valley View from wildlife officials to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, according to KSL.com. As of 2022, the state counted 36 licensed domesticated elk farms, hunt parks, and zoos operating under that framework.
Sevier County, where Monroe sits, spans nearly 2,000 square miles of central Utah with an economy built on livestock, agriculture, manufacturing, and natural resources, according to the Sevier County Farm Bureau. Monroe itself is known locally as “The Little Green Valley,” a nod to its agricultural roots.
Felony Charges and Restitution on the Table
Under Utah Code § 76-6-111, wanton destruction of livestock becomes a second-degree felony if the animal's value tops $5,000, and a third-degree felony if the value falls between $750 and $5,000, according to the Utah State Legislature. If a court finds the shooting was meant to disrupt a lawful animal business, Utah's animal enterprise interference law can bump the charge up an additional degree, according to the Animal Legal & Historical Center.
For cattle and sheep, Utah law directs courts to calculate minimum restitution using a formula that combines the animal's fair market value with ten times the average annual value of its potential offspring over a decade, per the state legislature. Vehicles or equipment used in the offense can also be subject to state civil forfeiture.
Investigators have not said whether the shooter fired deliberately into the farm's enclosure or mistook the captive bull for wild game. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sevier County Sheriff's Office at 435-896-2600, the Richfield Police Department at 435-869-6471, UDAF Brand Investigator Rob Wilcox at 435-419-0021, UDAF Brand Bureau Chief Matt Baily at 435-760-7015, or UDAF Domestic Elk Program official Stuart Barney at 435-994-4553.
