A gruesome discovery was made by the Okanagan Forest Task Force (OFTF), this week, during a routine back country drive.
Organizer Kane Blake was checking the Postill area for illegal garbage dumps when he stumbled along something that made his stomach turn.
In the Postill mud bog and on an adjacent road two cattle were found shot to death.
“Someone had shot an adult cow and a smaller cow, possibly a calf, and left them to die,” he said. “They didn’t take any meat from the animals, they just left them in plain sight.”
He believes the cows were shot sometime at the start of the week.
RELATED: Gruesome discovery made in back country
Realizing these animals were someone’s property, Blake attempted to check the cows for a tag or brand. After discovering the cattle were from the Coldstream Ranch, he called the owner to tell him what he found.
“Someone from the Ranch told me that someone had shot at their cattle in the area in the past, but nothing recently,” Blake explained. “They were sending someone out to check on the cows, but I don’t know how they are going to move them. They have been bloating in the sun and are pretty heavy.”
Blake is angered by the actions of whoever took it upon themselves to shoot the cows; he is frustrated someone would take an animal’s life and then just leave it to die.
“I am sure these cows were for slaughter but it shouldn’t be done like this. Also these cows are part of someone’s livelihood, they help to provide for the Ranch.”
OFTF often travels around the Postill area to look for illegal dumps and according to Blake many times cattle can be found roaming the roads.
“They are very friendly, you could probably go right up to them and they wouldn’t care. They don’t seem to mind humans.”
It’s unclear what will be done regarding the dead cows, as cattle don’t fall within the mandate of the Conservation Office.
According to Blake, in the past during a similar situation Coldstream Ranch contacted the RCMP to conduct an investigation but nothing came of the issue.
OFTF’s recent back country tour for illegal dumps is one of the last of the season before the snow falls. Blake said this year has been good as-far-as not finding much garbage in the forest.
RELATED: The forest isn’t your landfill
“I think because of the fire ban and the ATV ban during the summer, people weren’t coming into the forest to illegally dump.”
This coming weekend the group will head to the Westside where there have been complaints of garbage in the Jack Pine and Brenda Mine area.
Warning this photo may appear graphic to some viewers.
sign off
