Wildlife officials in Alberta, Canada, are requesting the public’s assistance in identifying the poacher or poachers who illegally killed a cougar and abandoned its carcass west of Cochrane.
The Alberta Fish and Wildlife Enforcement issued the appeal for help, along with a heartbreaking photo of the dead animal on its Facebook page over the weekend.
“In Alberta, it is unlawful to abandon the skin of a mountain lion that has been hunted,” noted the post which in turn brought attention to a bigger problem, the fact that hunting cougars in Alberta is still legal under specific guidelines. “Furthermore, the cougar season was closed in the relevant cougar management area at the time of the offense.”
Alberta reportedly has regulated its cougar population since 1969 allowing for an annual quota of up to 155 animals to be hunted each year. Terrible!
According to the post, which, as of this morning has been shared more than 6,000 times, a pair of green and brown work gloves were also found on the scene where a campfire was left burning.
