Police and wildlife officers are trying to determine who killed and dumped dozens of animals at a Quebec gravel quarry.
A woman horseback rider in Mercier, a town southeast of Montreal, found the carcasses in the snow Monday morning. The dead animals included a fox, three coyotes, two large pigs and about 40 piglets.
Chateauguay community officer Tony Sciullo told CBCNews.ca that the fox and coyotes appeared to have been shot. The coyotes had their heads removed and had been skinned. But the fox's skin was intact, he said.
'It showed a total disrespect for wildlife.'—Tony Sciullo, Chateauguay community officer
Sciullo said the piglets and remains of piglets had been stacked in three piles. He did not know where the pigs came from, but noted there are farms and a slaughterhouse in the area.
"The way we can figure it, the small pigs were used as bait to attract the other animals," he said.
Sciullo said real hunters respect wildlife and would not leave the remains of the animals they hunt.
"It's totally immoral. It showed a total disrespect for wildlife," Sciullo said.
"I was surprised and I was trying to figure out a logical explanation for it," said Sciullo, who was at the scene.
Sciullo said it is hunting season for coyotes, but the area where it is believed they were shot is private property and not a hunting area.
He said they discovered snowmobile tracks about 180 metres away from where the carcasses were found.
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