WARNING: This story contains disturbing images
A disturbing discovery by a Deroche, B.C. resident is raising questions about the way conservation officers dispose of problem wildlife.
Breanna Kettlewell contacted Global News after she obtained photos showing a dead bear’s body left inside the Mission Sanitary Landfill in full view of the public.
Another photo she obtained shows B.C. conservation officers inside the city dump.
After contacting the landfill’s front desk, Kettlewell says she wasn’t given much information and was left with even more questions.
“Everywhere else I call they just say, ‘Oh I don’t know,’ or ‘call this number’ or ‘call that number’ and all this stuff. It’s frustrating,” Kettlewell said.
WARNING: Disturbing images show the bear’s body dumped in a B.C. landfill
She isn’t the only one asking questions about the photos. Michael Howie with The Fur-Bearers Association says more detail is needed about how the bear died and why.
“How did we get to here? What happened before this to lead to the decisions that led to a bear being killed,” Howie asked. “If that bear was killed, what else was done?”
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In an email, the B.C. Conservation Service said there are “limited options for disposal other than in a landfill or in the natural environment” when there is “no other appropriate use for the animal.”
“Officers make efforts to ensure the animal’s body is dealt with in a considerate manner and when left at landfill, that it is covered from view,” officials added.
The email goes on to say officers will ensure bears that are disposed of in landfills are properly covered in the future.
But Kettlewell says the policy still doesn’t sit well with her.
“It’s inhumane,” she said. “It doesn’t need to be killed that way and it definitely does not deserve to be dumped in a dump.”