Skinned animals were likely legally hunted

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

November 27, 2009

By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG The Press Republican Fri Nov 27, 2009, 04:12 PM EST

MORRISONVILLE — Police believe piles of skinned carcasses discovered recently were likely those of wild animals that had been trapped and killed for their pelts.

This week, State Police were alerted to two sites of carcasses: one found Thanksgiving Day near the Kent Falls Road bridge and one reported a short time later in the thick woods off Kimberly Lane.

A downstate couple made the grisly find at Kent Falls after smelling the deceased animals, all of which are now believed to be wild dogs.

Authorities said about seven animals were located at that site.

Police were later called to another wooded area a few miles away, where they found the decomposing bodies of a number of small animals, including what appeared to be a fox, raccoon and muskrat.

He said the second site was found along the power lines deep in the woods off the residential street.

Lt. Charles Potthast said the deaths are not being investigated as cruelty cases.

He said the animals involved are those routinely trapped for the sale of pelts.

None of the animals were domestic, he said, relieving the concerns of residents who were left wondering whether someone had been intentionally killing pets in the area.

“They were all wild dogs,” Potthast said Friday.

“We’re not looking at anything we have to be really, really concerned with.”

According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, it is trapping season for most small animals in northern New York.

E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg at:

avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com