Two Macon County game wardens have received state and federal recognition for their role in bringing down a large-scale poaching ring in Macon County of 15 hunters who were illegally preying on deer, turkey and bear.

Game Warden Edwin Grant won the 2004 Wildlife Enforcement Officer of the Year from the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. U.S. Forest Service officer Brian Southard won the Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer of the Year from the National Wild Turkey Federation.

The bust was one of the largest wildlife law cases ever made in North Carolina. Officers had been tracking the suspected poaching ring for a couple of years when Southard received a set of deer testacles in his mailbox, taking the case to a new level.

“Operation Game Thief” ultimately netted 269 state and federal charges and $31,000 in fines. The poaching ring was responsible for the illegal taking of more than 200 wild turkeys and more than 150 deer.

An article on the poaching ring bust appears in the Smoky Mountain News archives at www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/07_04/07_28_04/out_captured_poachers.html. To report illegal hunting, call the anonymous N.C. Wildlife Commission poaching hotline at 800.662.7137.