The disturbing sight of a flock of dead Canada geese floating in a Pitt Meadows ditch has been investigated by the Conservation Officers Service.
Numerous Pitt Meadows residents have called Conservation to report the dead birds floating in the water alongside Rannie Road, near Pitt Lake.
Conservation Officer Marc Plamondon speculates they may have been legally taken by a hunter, but illegally dumped.
There are 30 birds, which is the maximum number a hunter can possess.
All of the birds had their breasts removed. There was a hunting opening on Canada Geese from Feb. 10 to March 10. The nearby Pitt-Addington Marsh is a place for hunting geese.
By law, a hunter need only harvest the breast meat, said Plamondon, so he speculates the birds were lawfully taken by a hunter over a period of time, and their breast meat harvested.
“He took the meat, didn’t know what to do with these carcasses, and he dumped them,” is Plamondon’s theory.
He said it is an offence to unlawfully dump waste in the environment, and it is also an offence to dump these carcasses beside the road because they will attract bears and other wildlife.
“It’s definitely the wrong thing to do,” said Plamondon.
He asked anyone with information about this incident to call the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line at 1-877-952-7277.
City crews will remove the carcasses.
He said the possession limit for Canada Geese may seem high, but it is determined by biologists based on bird populations.
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