To report a wildlife crime in the United States, the fastest route is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) TIPs hotline at 1-844-FWS-TIPS (1-844-397-8477) or the online tip form at fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips. For violations of state hunting or fishing laws, your state wildlife agency will have its own poaching hotline. Which agency you contact depends on the type of crime, and what you document before making that call can make or break an investigation.
What Counts as a Wildlife Crime
Wildlife crime is broader than most people realize. It covers poaching and illegal hunting, but also the import, export, transport, sale, or purchase of any fish, wildlife, or plant taken in violation of federal, state, tribal, or foreign law. Selling eagle feathers online, smuggling exotic reptiles across state lines, collecting protected plants from a national forest, and poisoning birds of prey all fall under this umbrella.
Federal law also targets habitat destruction and environmental contamination that harms protected species. If someone is illegally filling in wetlands that support endangered wildlife or dumping chemicals in a waterway, that can be a wildlife crime too. You don’t need to know exactly which law was broken. Enforcement agencies will sort out the legal specifics once they have your report.
Federal vs. State: Who to Contact
The FWS Office of Law Enforcement handles crimes involving federally protected species, migratory birds, endangered and threatened species, illegal wildlife trafficking, and violations that cross state or international borders. If someone is smuggling ivory, shooting bald eagles, or selling protected reptiles online, this is a federal matter.
State wildlife agencies handle violations of state hunting and fishing regulations: hunting out of season, exceeding bag limits, spotlighting deer, fishing without a license, or taking game in a closed area. Every state has a wildlife enforcement division, and most operate a dedicated poaching hotline. Search for your state’s department of fish and wildlife (or fish and game, or natural resources, depending on the state) to find the right number. If you’re unsure whether a crime is state or federal, report it to whichever agency you can reach first. They routinely coordinate with each other and will route your tip to the right place.
For wildlife conflicts that aren’t criminal, like a coyote killing livestock or birds damaging crops, the USDA’s Wildlife Services program is the appropriate contact. You can reach them at 866-4USDA-WS.
How to Submit a Federal Tip
You have two options for reaching FWS law enforcement:
- Phone: Call 1-844-FWS-TIPS (1-844-397-8477)
- Online: Submit a tip at fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips
Include information about where and when the crime occurred and what you witnessed. If you submit a tip online, don’t also call the hotline with the same information, as duplicate reports slow the process down.
What to Document Before You Report
The quality of your report matters enormously. Law enforcement officers build cases from specific, verifiable details, and the more you can provide, the better the chances of a successful investigation. Here’s what to note if you witness a wildlife crime:
- Date and time: Be as precise as possible, including how long the activity lasted.
- Location: An address, GPS coordinates from your phone, or a detailed description of the area (mile markers, landmarks, trailhead names).
- People involved: Physical descriptions, number of individuals, and anything they said.
- Vehicles: Make, model, color, license plate number, and any distinguishing features like bumper stickers or damage. Vehicles, vessels, and aircraft suspected of being used in a wildlife crime are considered evidence.
- Species affected: Describe the animal or plant as best you can. You don’t need to be a biologist. “Large brown hawk” or “small spotted cat” is useful.
- What happened: Describe the specific actions you saw. Was someone shooting, trapping, loading animals into a vehicle, selling something at a market?
- Photos or video: If you can safely take them, visual evidence is extremely valuable. Officers treat photographs and video recordings as part of the formal evidence record. Capture the scene, any wildlife involved, and the people or vehicles present.
Write everything down as soon as possible. Details fade quickly, and notes made at the time of an event carry more weight than memories recalled days later. Do not put yourself at risk to gather this information. Your safety comes first, and a partial report with a good location and time is still useful.
Can You Report Anonymously?
Yes. The FWS online tip form and phone hotline both accept anonymous tips. Many state poaching hotlines also allow anonymous reporting. You can provide as much or as little identifying information about yourself as you’re comfortable with. That said, leaving contact information lets investigators follow up with clarifying questions, which can be the difference between a tip that leads somewhere and one that doesn’t.
Financial Rewards for Tips
Multiple federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act, authorize FWS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to pay financial rewards for information on wildlife trafficking. In practice, these payments are uncommon. Over an 11-year period from 2007 through 2017, FWS paid just 25 rewards totaling $184,500, and NOAA paid 2 rewards totaling $21,000. A Government Accountability Office review found that some agents weren’t sure how to set appropriate reward amounts, and recommended that FWS develop clearer guidelines.
Many state programs are more active with rewards. Some states offer set bounties for tips that lead to convictions, often ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the species and severity of the violation. Check your state wildlife agency’s website for specifics.
What Happens After You Report
Once your tip is received, a law enforcement officer reviews it and decides whether to open an investigation. Not every tip leads to charges. Some lack enough detail to act on, and others involve activity that turns out to be legal. You typically won’t receive updates on the progress of an investigation, especially if you reported anonymously, because ongoing cases are confidential.
For significant cases, federal officers may conduct undercover operations, inspect wildlife shipments at ports of entry, or coordinate with international law enforcement partners. The FWS Office of Law Enforcement works with state, tribal, federal, and international agencies to build cases, particularly for smuggling rings and large-scale commercial exploitation. Investigations into trafficking networks can take months or years to develop before arrests are made, so don’t assume nothing happened if you don’t see immediate results.