Missouri’s new elk herd not immune to poaching

Fremont, Mo. — Missouri’s elk reintroduction launched in 2011 and its first elk hunting season was in 2020 – but with success comes a downside.

As 2025 ended, Missouri Department of Conservation officials were still looking to identify who poached a bull elk in late November at Peck Ranch Conservation Area, one of the sites where elk were first released to the state. Conservation agents were looking for information and said a reward is available for information leading to a conviction in the case.

They believe the elk was killed either Nov. 25 or Nov. 26.

The new case follows another elk poaching case from 2023 that was settled in late summer of 2025. Three Missouri men were sentenced in Shannon County court after a months-long investigation by MDC and the filing of multiple wildlife-related charges in Shannon County.

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MDC began its investigation after a 14-year-old deer hunter reported finding the dead mature bull elk near Klepzig Mill in Shannon County during the November 2023 opening weekend of firearms deer season. Over the course of a nine-month investigation, conservation agents from MDC’s Ozark, Central, St. Louis, and Southeast regions interviewed numerous deer hunters in the area and contacted local businesses.

They also reviewed surveillance footage and elk-monitoring camera footage to help identify the suspects. As a result, five search warrants were served, numerous pieces of evidence were sent to forensics labs, and the three men were taken into custody.

Michael K. O’Neail, of De Soto, Missouri, pleaded guilty Sept. 3 to illegally killing and abandoning a bull elk. O’Neail was sentenced to 60 days in jail and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Execution of the 60-day jail sentence was suspended, pending successful completion of two years of probation and full payment of the $10,000 fine within one year of his sentencing date.

The steep fine was made possible by the 2019 enactment of a Missouri law that authorizes judges to impose additional penalties for poaching wildlife.

Two men not directly responsible for the elk poaching, Kevin B. Click and Travis R. Wadlow, both of Bonne Terre, Missouri, each received a $500 fine plus court costs, and a mandatory $750 contribution to the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation.

Missouri’s first modern elk hunting season was in December 2020, a landmark event following elk reintroduction efforts, with five permits issued for bull elk.