Whether it was a poacher or a hunter, in the thick of night, someone dumped a deer carcass on Whitman Way.
Aside from showing blatant disregard for the Warfield neighbourhood, disposing animal remains near family homes is not okay for a number of reasons - especially considering the area is already frequented by bears, coyotes and cougars.
Dumping in residential areas definitely attracts dangerous wildlife and vermin, says local Conservation Officer Blair Thin.
“Such as rats and which, in turn, draw in coyotes to our residential areas,” Thin told the Trail Times. “The violation for such an offence is discharge litter under the Environmental Management Act and the fine amount for this offence is $115.00.”
Carcasses must be disposed of in the bush or at the local landfill.
If a member of the public observes such a violation they need to immediately record the licence plate and document a description of the vehicle, preferably by video or photograph, Thin said.
“Then call RAPP (Reporting all Poachers and Polluters) at 1.877.952.7277.”
Unfortunately the Warfield incident happened late Thursday, when it was too dark for the observer to jot down a licence plate number.
“A resident called in this afternoon to report she had seen a pickup truck dump off “something” in the bushes last night around 11:30 p.m.,” Warfield Administrative Officer Jody-Lynn Cox told the Trail Times Friday. “She investigated this morning and saw it was the remains of a deer.”
With no leads to go on, the Conservation Officer requested that village work crews handle the gory clean up.
“Our crew went to dispose of the deer properly and saw it had been gutted and stripped of meat and that all that remained was bones and the head,” Cox noted. “We didn’t get a description of a truck, the resident who saw said it was very dark to see. It was perhaps a hunter, since it was butchered,” she said. “But it seemed to be a pretty immature deer, so our works department thought it may have been poached.”
This latest incident adds to a growing problem of illegal dumping in the Village of Warfield. Ongoing violations have led to restrictive action, a first for the village.
“We felt something like this needed some public attention, as dumping is such an issue in the area,” Cox emphasized.
Yard waste gets thrown down “No Dumping” banks, and community hall garbage bins have also been used for disposal of personal garbage.
“Household garbage has been stuffed into a village garbage bin, which we had to remove to stop the problem from reoccurring,” she added. “Some household garbage bags have been found in that area still, just laying on the road side.”
Homeowners currently pay about $11 monthly to have their garbage picked up once-a-week. Additionally, the village conducts a yard and garden waste pick up the last Friday of each month from April to November.