Rotisserie mystery: Yukoner's dog finds pile of cooked chickens dumped in woods

Who would dump 40 rotisserie chickens in the Yukon woods? 

That's the question an Ibex Valley woman is asking after her dog Ossie sniffed out what many canines would consider the motherlode of tasty treats. 

Linda Lamers was out for a walk with Ossie when the dog caught the scent and found more than 40 rotisserie chickens dumped in a heap in the woods. There were also some side-servings of chicken fingers and french fries.

It may have been a dream come true for the dog, but it was less than ideal for Lamers.

"I just want to know why," Lamers said. "That's a big smelly bunch of cooked chicken."

Also concerning was where the food was left.

"These weren't in the ditch," said Lamers. "They would have had to have been dragged there intentionally."

The discarded food was just 500 metres from homes, including Lamers's property.

"That's a massive attractant," said Lamers. "I don't even have bird seed out at this time of year, because I'm worried that's going to attract bears."

Yukon conservation officer Nick Hogan admits the cooked chicken is "not something we typically find." 

"Yukoners are usually pretty good about disposing of their waste legally," he said. 

"It's never good to find that kind of stuff ... Especially this time of year, with not a lot of food available for animals right now — so yeah, not great to find that."

Hogan said a lot of animals are searching for food at this time of year, including bears, foxes and coyotes.

Not only is the wasted food a dangerous wildlife attractant, it's also against the law.

"It does come with a littering fine," said Hogan. 

Fines start at $500 but can quickly grow if, as in this case, the chicken and fries do attract wildlife and the animals become a nuisance.

Lamers says fortunately no wildlife has been attracted to her residence or other neighbours' homes since the food was dumped — and conservation officers have now removed the waste from the area.

"We haven't seen any bears, and our dog is fine," said Lamers. "We do have to keep a close eye on him now, because there is strong appeal for him to go running over there now."

Anyone with information on this unusual case of littering is asked to contact Environment Yukon.