Wildlife conservation officers are hoping the public can provide information about who shot two Roosevelt elk that were found dead in a wooded area near Spruston Road.
The carcasses of the animals, a cow and a bull, were left in the woods after they were killed.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service confirmed the killings most likely happened sometime early Thursday.
“There was a bull elk and a cow elk were reported to an officer on his way home,” said Andrew Riddell, conservation officer. “He attended and confirmed that two elk had been shot off of Spruston Road.”
The elk appeared to have been shot with a rifle, Riddell said, but he had no details beyond that about the weapon that was used. He also could offer no reason why someone might leave the animals after killing them.
“I don’t really want to hypothesize with that one … but it’s not normal to shoot and leave Roosevelt elk, that’s for sure,” he said. “It’s not common, but it does happen. We certainly take it very seriously and we’re definitely investigating it.”
Roosevelt elk, Riddell said, are a protected species and there is no general open hunting season for them and they can only legally be hunted through limited annual hunting draws.
Anyone who saw or heard anything, such as suspicious vehicles or persons in the area, prior to the deaths of the animals is asked to contact the B.C. Conservation Officer Service through the Report All Poachers and Polluters 24-hour hotline at 1-877-952-7277.
READ ALSO: Three elk illegally harvested in the Cowichan Lake area in recent weeks
READ ALSO: ‘Lots of meat’ left on poached elk: B.C. Conservation Officer
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