Montana wildlife auction in Billings to sell antlers, mounts and specimens

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks will send antlers, mounts and frozen specimens across the block Saturday in Billings, turning seized wildlife parts into a public sale at the Expo Center at MetraPark. Found sheds and legally held antlers are one thing, while wildlife parts tied to poaching, seizures or forfeitures can end up in state custody and on the auction block.

Montana law requires confiscated birds and animals, including heads, hides, teeth and other parts, to be sold at public auction, with grizzly bears excluded from that rule. The items in this sale were surrendered to or forfeited to Montana FWP, and buyers will receive a receipt showing the item was legally obtained. The loadout will include material from elk, whitetail deer, mule deer, antelope, black bears, mountain lions and bighorn sheep.

The live sale will open for preview at 8:00 a.m., with bidding set to begin at 10:00 a.m. In-person buyers can register at the door with photo ID, absentee bids are available if arranged in advance, and every purchase must be paid for and removed the same day. A $25 per-lot handling fee applies when items must be transferred to the auction house for pickup, a 5 percent buyer’s premium will be added, and cash or check gets a 5 percent discount.

In 2021, a National Auction USA sale grossed $311,740 and netted $260,479 after commission and expenses. That auction covered roughly four years of confiscated, diseased or roadkill carcasses from all seven Montana wildlife regions, and the previous FWP auction before that had been held in 2017.

Meat from confiscated carcasses was donated to charity before antlers and other parts were sold, and the lots included bighorn sheep from Wild Horse Island on Flathead Lake, plus headline elk racks.