PEI

Province seeks information on snowmobilers who chased, killed coyote

Investigators are offering a cash reward to find and convict whoever ran over a coyote with a snowmobile then let their dogs kill the wounded animal.

Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing

Conservation officers are investigating the killing of a coyote March 6 near Bideford, P.E.I. This photo of a coyote was taken in Rice Point, P.E.I., in Jan. 2019. (Submitted by Frazer Smith)

Conservation officers are taking tips from the public after posting on social media that they are looking for two people involved in killing a coyote.

During the incident March 6 near Bideford in Prince County, investigators say an eyewitness reported two people on snowmobiles used one of the machines to run down a coyote. 

The animal was "pinned to the ice" according to the province's social media posting.

P.E.I. Public Safety said the coyote was killed by two dogs that were released from a kennel being towed behind the second snowmobile.The dead coyote was taken away on one of the snowmobiles, according to the posting.

The investigating officer was not immediately available for comment.

The incident took place between 4:15 and 4:30 pm on the ice below Green Park, according to the posting.

The Department of Justice and Public Safety is offering a cash reward for information that leads to a conviction. 

"We are seeing a lot of activity on social media over this," said Donna Hooper, senior communications officer with the Department of Justice and Public Safety, noting the more than two dozen comments on the post. 

The province is asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers or use its website to report poaching.

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