Shootings may not be illegal, but leaving bodies is unusual: officer
BY JEFF BELL, TIMES COLONIST
Two dead wolves left in a Tofino dumpster have prompted calls to conservation officials, but whoever shot them may not have done anything wrong.
“There is an open season on wolves right now,” conservation officer Sgt. Mike Delaronde said Thursday.
The season opened last weekend and continues to June 15.
Indications are the wolves were shot, he said, and the person responsible has 30 days to report the killings to the Ministry of Environment.
“The Conservation Officer Service hasn’t received a report yet, but I expect we’re going to.”
Even if the killings were not illegal, leaving the carcasses in a dumpster is unusual, Delaronde said.
Pictures of the bodies circulated quickly online.
Const. Matthew Hartwig of the Tofino RCMP, which is working with the conservation service, said the wolves are believed to have been killed on Meares Island and brought to the district. “But we haven’t been able to confirm that as of yet,” said Hartwig, adding that the RCMP is concerned about publicsafety issues and any potential firearms-related offences.
Tofino Mayor Perry Schmunk said the wolf killings come after increased sightings of the animals.
“There was definitely more wolf activity in town in the last couple of weeks,” he said.
“There’s concern by a number of locals that there were some wolves close to town and definitely within the town boundaries,” he added.
“We do live right in the middle of a wildlife area and we’ve had issues in the past.”
There was some indication a couple of dogs may have been attacked by wolves, Schmunk said.
“If, in the event that this was somebody taking some kind of safety measure into their own hands, I’m not very happy about,” he said. “It would be best left to the authorities.”