Operation Game Thief (OGT) is counting on you to call.

Since the program’s creation in 1981, more than 28,000 calls regarding suspected illegal wildlife activity have been received and investigated.

The program offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction for a wildlife crime. The reward hotline at 1-800-792-GAME is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Roy Lawrence is a retired Texas game warden with 32 years of service. He now works as an OGT program coordinator, managing a traveling display trailer that raises public awareness of illegal wildlife activity and what the public can do to protect the state’s wildlife resources.

“I get a lot of comments from the public, positive feedback. We get a lot of questions, in particular, about the big deer that are on display. They don’t realize that people actually do this kind of stuff,” Lawrence told the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) Radio Network in Fort Worth during a recent Hunter’s Extravaganza sponsored by the Texas Trophy Hunters Association. “All they have to do is call the 1-800 number. It goes directly to a dispatcher, and the dispatcher has contact with every game warden in the state of Texas. It’s a quick response time, especially nowadays with cell phones.”

OGT said receiving a tip on illegal activity while it’s occurring can make a significant difference in whether or not the violator is apprehended. Even if the offender has left the scene before the warden arrives, there may be critical evidence, or even other witnesses with important information, that can be used to make a case in court.