By Conservation

Federation Magazine

Operation Game Thief (OGT) is a telephone hotline information (1-800-392-1111) and monetary reward program that allows citizens to anonymously report illegal hunting, fishing, trapping, and other Missouri Wildlife Code violations. If the information proves to be valid and leads to a citation or arrest, the reporting party may request a cash reward. OGT is a partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and an independent 4-person board of directors that is governed by their established by-laws.

OGT was officially es-tablished as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with the Missouri Secretary of State in 1983. Start-up funding came from numerous private and public sources. Since then, private funds are still welcomed and accepted, but the MDC has committed to assuring an annual revenue source to cover rewards and education.

Since 2010, the OGT hotline has received more than 6,000 tips resulting in more than 7,900 citations or arrests from OGT reports not requesting rewards and another 1900+ citations from individuals requesting reward consideration for various poaching violations. Of the callers, 525 in-dividuals requested reward consideration, for which more than $97,000 was paid out.