ALAMO, Nev. (KOLO) – The Nevada Department of Wildlife is looking for two people accused of illegally dumping turkeys in eastern Nevada.
NDOW says the pair dumped around 25 turkeys onto the Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area, around 110 miles north of Las Vegas, on April 9.
Game Wardens were called to that area and found them dumped at the south end of Nesbit Lake on the Wildlife Management Area. The wardens were able to find a witness who told them they saw a white truck with a crew cab towing a horse trailer heading in that direction.
During the investigation, wardens were able to find security footage at a local convenience store that shows the truck and trailer stopping for gas before heading north on U.S. Route 39 at 1:00 p.m. The video shows the truck has a large dent on its passenger side door.
Wardens say they believe the suspects are from Clark County, as they arrived from the south and headed back the same way. NDOW is now asking anyone who may recognize the truck or suspects to call NDOW at 800-992-3030.
“Our hope is that someone might have seen or heard something or might recognize the vehicle from the photo. Any information could be key to this investigation,” said Game Warden Lieutenant John Anderson. “At this time of year those turkeys would have been making a whole lot of noise. Maybe there’s a neighbor who notices a sudden drop in noise coming from over the fence. You never know what might be helpful.”
“The birds released were likely either domestic turkeys or wild turkeys that have been fed by humans and habituated. That brings up a myriad of concerns not the least of which is disease,” said Game Division Administrator Shawn Espinosa. “They could have any number of diseases that could be devastating to the wild bird population in the area.”
Espinosa also says the turkeys may have no idea as to how to survive in the wild, as they are domesticated or habituated to human habitats. NDOW is fearful they could succumb to the elements or be eaten by predators.
A photo of the suspect truck is below:
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