WARNING: Readers may find some of the details in the story below disturbing. Discretion is advised.
The BC SPCA is investigating a number of disturbing discoveries in an East Vancouver neighbourhood.
Joanna Makowska found three dead skunks in the same area near Great Northern Way and E 6th Avenue over the past few weeks.
At least two of them had been mutilated, with pieces of flesh and fur cut from their bodies.
“About mid-August I was walking my dog, as I always do, and when I went down on to the field there was a skunk with a large bloody gash to its head and some blood all around it,” said Makowska, an adjunct professor in the animal welfare program at the University of British Columbia.
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She thought maybe it had been hit by a car and crawled away and died on the field.
But about a week later, on the same field, she found another dead skunk, and this one was missing some flesh from its side.
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“I’ve been walking my dog here for about five years now and I’ve seen maybe one dead skunk in five years, and now it’s about two within about a week,” said Makowska.
Then a week later, she found a third one with skin and fur removed.
At that point, she contacted the BC SPCA, saying that something strange could be going on.
“Skunks don’t die so often I think in the same area,” Makowska added.
“It’s somebody in our neighbourhood, so it is worrisome.”
Concerned residents in the neighbourhood are also asking people to call 911 with any details.
The Fur-Bearers of B.C. have also offered a $1,000 reward for any information about what happened to the skunks.
“It’s completely unacceptable to kill or hurt wildlife — in fact, it’s illegal,” said Lesley Fox, executive director of the Fur-Bearers.
If anyone has any information, they are asked to call the BC SPCA hotline at 1-(855)-6BC-SPCA (1-855-622-7722).
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