A wildlife charity is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the identification and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for injuring a young male cougar and not reporting it.
On the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 12, the RCMP and BC Conservation officers were summoned to an alley near Dunbar Street and 4th Avenue in Port Alberni, where a cougar was spotted in the residential neighborhood.
According to information obtained from the BC Conservation Officer Service, they, with assistance from the RCMP, located and immobilized the animal in the residential area.
“Physical assessment of animal found that it had what appeared to be a gunshot wound to a leg and into the chest. (The) leg was badly broken, and the animal was humanely dispatched,” states the COS in an email to Ha-Shilth-Sa.
They went on to say that the COS had received reports over several weeks, “of a cougar in town with a limp, but were unable to locate to observe the animal.”
Social media posts indicate the limping cougar had been observed around town for five to seven days prior to Oct. 12. One image shows the wounded feline hiding under a wharf deck near the ramp at Fisherman’s Dock by the Harbour Quay.
The COS is seeking information from the public to find out who is responsible for having injured the cougar without reporting.
“These actions had put the community at risk, and information regarding who is responsible will help the COS hold those parties accountable,” they stated.
The Furbearers, a North Vancouver-based wildlife charity, issued a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the identification and conviction of the person(s) responsible.
“The Fur-Bearers is a non-partisan, registered Canadian charity founded in 1953 to protect fur-bearing animals through conservation, advocacy, research, and education,” says their website.
“This case may include potential violations of the BC Wildlife Act, and that’s why we’re issuing this reward,” explains Lesley Fox, executive director of The Fur-Bearers.
She went on to say that while cougar hunting is legal in British Columbia, it is regulated.
“Hunters must hold the appropriate licenses and follow season dates, management unit rules, bag limits, and methods set out in the provincial hunting and trapping regulations,” she continued.
Anyone with information about this situation is asked to contact the BC Conservation Officer Service through the Report All Polluters and Poachers (RAPP) line at 1-877-952-7277, or use the online portal at https://forms.gov.bc.ca/environment/rapp/
