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Officials with the
Department of Natural Resources are asking for the public’s assistance
in apprehending the person or persons responsible for setting snares
that have killed several moose in the Trout River area.
Conservation
officers have discovered a total of five snared moose in the area. Once
snared, the animals were left to die. It is one of the worst cases of
animal cruelty the conservation officers have witnessed.
Acting on reports
from individuals in the community, conservation officers originally
discovered three moose that had been snared and left to rot in a wooded
area in close proximity to several houses. All three moose had been
snared around the neck. The snares were rigged with the intent to
disable or immobilize the moose.
On the same day,
conservation officers received another report that a fourth moose
appeared to be struggling and unable to move in another wooded area.
Conservation officers found the live moose caught by its leg in a snare.
Another dead moose was discovered in a snare 100 meters away.
As conservation
officers attempted to free the live moose from the snare, the animal was
able to break the rope and free itself. Without the intervention of
conservation officers, the animal would have likely starved to death.
Further
investigation of the area revealed other snares, several more rotted
moose carcasses and skeletons, and older pieces of snares and ropes
still attached to trees. The investigation is continuing.
Conservation
officers are seeking the public’s assistance to apprehend the person or
persons responsible for the indiscriminate killing of these animals in
such a brutal and heinous manner. Anyone with information is encouraged
to call the Western Region Forestry and Wildlife Office at (709)
637-2409, the Pasadena District Forestry and Wildlife Office at (709)
686-2071 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-363-TIPS (8477).
People are also
encouraged to report the location of any additional snares or anything
unusual.
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