Disgusted by the ignorance, local rancher Jean Goold stood near the abandoned moose remains just 20 feet from her back gate.
The moose hide and head were recently dumped and left by a hunter in the grazing range near the Goold ranch on Mud Lake Road.
Goold says a neighbour noticed the animal hide left in the grass as he was driving by, so he called them to let them know.
She says they did see the vehicle but were unable to get a licence plate number.
“We have enough bear and wolf problems up here that we really don’t need to encourage them to come any closer into town,” said Goold.
She says their ranch is in town limits, as is the range behind their ranch where they see vehicles heading to in the early mornings during hunting season.
“We know they’re going to go up there and hunt, but please don’t shoot our cattle, number one, and number two, don’t leave a mess out my back door to encourage predators to harass our animals.”
Asked what her first thoughts were when she saw the mess, Goold said you don’t want to know.
“They weren’t nice, I can promise you that.
“It’s just rude… it’s right there in my backyard and that’s just ignorance,” she said.
Goold says there are eight homes in the area that could be affected if predators were drawn in by the abandoned hide.
“It’s a hop, skip and a jump for any animal to cross into somebody’s yard,” she said.
She says that all the neighbours share strong feelings about what happened, and about how thoughtless it is for people to be dumping their garbage off and encouraging predators into the area.
Jocelyn Bell, a neighbouring rancher, says she was concerned when she heard of the abandoned moose remains.
“We have enough problems with bears in the community at this time of the year,” she said.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy you got your moose, but please give some thought as to where you leave the remains!
“[This area] is not a substitute for the dump.”
Janine Dougall, Director of Environmental Services at the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, says the Knockholt landfill accepts animal hides free of charge.
“The only rules that are in place is for cattle remains,” she said, adding that they are certified to accept cattle remains, but it just has special handling procedures.