An unsettling discovery by a Castlegar woman has prompted an RCMP animal cruelty investigation.

While out on a hike on a service road near Syringa Creek Provincial Park, a woman came across an animal carrier riddled with bullet holes. Inside that carrier was the decaying remains of a small animal.

The find was reported to the Castlegar RCMP. At the scene, officers discovered that the animal had been dead for quite some time and had decayed to the point they could not determine if it was a cat or a dog.

The animal was discovered in an area that is sometimes used for shooting and Sgt. Monty Taylor says at this point it is difficult to tell if the animal had died naturally or was euthanized first and the carrier shot up by someone else at a later time or if the discovery is evidence of animal cruelty.

However, Taylor says that while it is not illegal to euthanize your animals humanely, that would include the proper disposal of the animal鈥檚 remains.

鈥淭he best case scenario, is that you take your animal to the vet,鈥� said Taylor. 鈥淏ut if you do take care of it yourself 鈥� don鈥檛 leave it for someone else to find.鈥�

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Castlegar RCMP at 250-365-7721.

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betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com
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