By WIBW TV
PRATT, Kan. (WIBW) - A grant funded by donations through Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s will help educate Kansans and put an end to poaching in the Sunflower State.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks’s Law Enforcement Division has been awarded a $10,000 grant from International Wildlife Crimestoppers to buy and outfit an educational anti-poaching trailer.
The “Wall of Shame” trailer will highlight past criminal wildlife cases KDWP said it has investigated, as well as provide educational opportunities to look at real contraband taken from investigations.
“Poaching is a regrettable reality of wildlife conservation, especially for our Law Enforcement officers, so it makes it all the more imperative that our game wardens are equipped with the tools and resources they need to effect positive change,” said KDWP Secretary Brad Loveless. “I’m confident the Law Enforcement Division will be excellent stewards of this grant money, just as all of our staff are, and that they’ll do a fine job of utilizing this trailer to its fullest extent.”
Through its membership in IWC, KDWP said it was eligible for the grant, which is funded by Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund. Guided by Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris, the Outdoor Fund empowers 200 million customers of the stores to support conservation efforts by rounding up their purchases.
KDWP said staff expects to have the trailer ready by the first quarter of 2022.