A collection of animal carcasses carelessly disposed of in a publicly used area of Skimikin has garnered the attention of the BC Conservation Officer Service.
Last week, North Okanagan Conservation Officers received a complaint related to the carcasses of two black bears and a deer that had been found discarded within feet of each other at a Skimikin location used by outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
Based on the information received, Conservation Officer Mike Richardson said a file was opened on the incident, because where and how the carcasses were disposed of is an offence under the Wildlife Act.
“It is an offence to dump this stuff there where people might be present,” said Richardson. “There is an offence under the Wildlife Act of attracting dangerous wildlife, so if these people are found to be doing this, they can face penalties.”
However, Richardson adds that without a suspect, there’s currently little to act on.
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“The file is ongoing,” said Richardson. “If we receive information of who possibly might have done this we can obviously open it up again and go but, as of right now, it’s kind of closed for now.”
Richardson said it is common this time of year for hunters to discard the remains of what they kill, and he believes the animals were legally hunted.
“It is normal this time of year for hunters – when they shoot an animal, they’re obviously going to gut it and leave the remains out in the bush,” explained Richardson, noting the season for hunting black bears ends Nov. 30.
“Most ethical hunters will do it in an area where no one is going to find it, but these people that are doing this are just lazy hunters and they’re just doing it for convenience sake of pulling into an area and just throwing it out instead of trying to put it in an area where it’s not going to attract dangerous wildlife and be a danger to the public.”
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Richardson adds it is an offence under the Wildlife Act to hunt and kill wildlife and not take the meat.
While the file remains open, Richardson says information regarding this incident or other possible wildlife offences is welcome by the BC Conservation Officer Service, and can be reported via the province’s RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters) line at 1-877-925-7277, or #7277 on a cellular phone.
“We appreciate people phoning this stuff in and letting us know about it, especially if they see someone actually doing it,” said Richardson. “It’s even better… if they can get a licence plate or whatever to give us some information, and then we can determine who exactly it was. We appreciate all the hunters phoning it in for sure.”
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