Recently, several RCMP Crime Watch Advisories have been issued as conservation officers are looking for information about hunted animals that have been left to waste.
Hunters are being reminded that in Saskatchewan it is illegal to waste, destroy, allow to spoil or abandon the edible meat from game birds or big game animals, except black bears and wolves, unless authorized.
In 2022, conservation officers in the province issued 2,602 written warnings and laid 1,604 charges for illegal hunting, fishing and timber harvesting. The Turn In Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) line received 1,440 reports in 2022.
When it comes to animal wasting, Moose Jaw conservation officer Sgt. Dan Robinson said it is about on par with previous years.
However, about six crime watch advisories were issued in the past month in southern Saskatchewan for animals that had been left to waste.
On Nov. 4, a mule deer buck was shot and left to waste 13 kilometres southwest of Milestone.
A mule deer buck was also shot and left to waste on Nov. 11 about 15 kilometres north of Crane Valley near Highway 36 in the RM of Terrell No. 101.
On Nov. 26, Assiniboia conservation officers were called to a deer carcass along a rural road four miles east of Lafleche in the RM of Weed River No. 74 that was tied to a fence post, gutting and skinned out, but the edible meat was left to waste.
Conservation officers found a mule deer shot and left to waste on Nov. 29 about 12 miles north of Piapot along the northwest side of Crane Lake. It is believed the deer was shot on Nov. 27.
Also on Nov. 29, an untagged white-tail deer was dumped on private land southwest of Central Butte near Paysen Lake.
And on Dec. 2, a mule deer was hunted out of season and left to waste about four miles northwest of Elbow.
Robinson said, if you hunt an animal, there is a proper way to dispose of the carcass.
“The most common practice is hunters will field dress the animal, take it back home to skin it out and debone it and then the proper method of disposal with the remaining carcass would be to take it to an approved landfill,” he said.
There may be times when a hunter shoots an animal, and it appears that the animal is unhealthy, and the meat is inedible. In this situation, Robinson said you should call the proper authorities.
“If they do shoot an animal that they suspect is diseased or has something wrong, rendering it inedible, they should contact the nearest conservation officer and the conservation officer would go out and assess that animal,” he said.
If you come across a hunted animal that was left to waste, contact your local conservation officer or call the TIPP line at 1-800-667-7561.
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