Wild Animals Deliberately Killed And Dumped, State Biologist Says

Fri., Feb. 7, 1997

From Staff And Wire Reports

Wild animals found dead on a roadside near Kalama, Wash., probably were asphyxiated or poisoned elsewhere and then dumped, a state biologist said Thursday.

“We’re tending toward it being carbon monoxide or cyanide,” which would mean the animals were killed deliberately, said Bob Bicknell, area biologist for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The carcasses of 21 animals - raccoons, squirrels, opossums, skunks, a Norway rat and a cat - were found early last month by a Cowlitz County Jail work crew along a 1,000-foot stretch of road near the Todd Road exit off Interstate 5.

Investigators suspect the carcasses were tossed out of a car.

Before they died, “the animals were in excellent health,” Bicknell said.

Poisoning any of the animals is illegal.

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