Eleven small animals found dead and skinned near Lower Macungie's Quarry Park Friday have been tentatively identified as foxes because of their teeth, according to Christine Wiggins of the Lehigh County Humane Society.
Further testing is needed to be sure, Bruce Fritch of the humane society told The Morning Call.
A press release from state police originally indicated the animals were puppies, sparking outrage among local animal lovers.
An Upper Macungie woman who was walking her dogs on Friday afternoon near the park made the gruesome discovery and called state police. She did not want to disclose exactly what she saw for fear of jeopardizing the investigation.
The woman told Patch, "It's very upsetting. And I worry what kind of person would do something like that. And what are they capable of doing to anybody?"
The animals looked to be about 6 months old when Wiggins saw them on Sunday, she told Patch. They should have been disposed of properly, not left in a park where a child could see them, she said.
Wiggins said she didn't know if this case and the similar case of a skinned animal -- possibly a dog -- last week in Lynn Township are related. That animal, she said, was professionally skinned and its feet were cut off -- which is a sign of a professional's work. Wiggins said the animal was not "cooked," as reported by local media. It showed signs of exposure to sun and the elements.
The animal in Lynn Township was found about 20 miles from the Lower Macungie park where the foxes were found.
The feet were not cut off the animals found in Lower Macungie, Wiggins said.
State Police at Fogelsville still has a criminal case open on the incident, but said the Lehigh County Humane Society is now the lead investigator for both the Quarry Park and Lynn Township incidents.
Anyone with information about the foxes is urged to call Wiggins at the Humane Society at 610-797-1205 ext. 2.
And again, leaving skinned carcasses in a public park means most likely this was not a licensed hunter. We have to figure out if the animal caught north was a Coyote. Again, dumping it on the side of the road... inexcusable.
No offense to the conservation officer, which is the proper term, they are over worked and under payed but the chances off catching this pin head are slim and the penalties minimal. Not to mention the the fact that they are dealing with someone so brain dead and insensitive to life as to think trapping is a viable activity. We can argue population control and manage ment technique till the cows come home but there is not nor has there ever been a logical argument for trapping any animal by any means to supply the vanity market of wearing fur.
They were skinned for their hide...no laws were broken...Everyone should remain calm and sip your latte...
Skinned alive is even worse than those in th northwest, & Alaska, who are just shot from planes, for sport, & left to die.
You can't reason with the PETA wackos, tree-huggers, and fanatical vegans. To them, animals are, perversely, more important than people and it makes them "feel good about themselves" to be "better" than us "barbarians" who engage in such "primitive" activities as raising farm animals for food, hunting, and eating meat. They are (choose to be) ignorant of the facts surrounding animal husbandry or wildlife management. They ignore the fact that hunters spend billions of dollars every year on wildlife conservation and are the primary means of support for the overwhelming majority of conservation efforts, government and private. Wildlife control is necessary for the good of both humans and the wildlife. WIthout sufficient natural enemies, without hunting/trapping, most species will overpopulate to the point where there will be a huge die-off due to starvation and/or disease. Most of those folks won't "get it" unless/until their pets start disappearing and/or their children are bitten (or worse) by foxes, coyotes, etc. Foxes, coyotes, skunks, groundhogs, cats, and bats are rabies vector species ... and the series of shots required if bitten or scratched by one is NOT pleasant and is very expensive, but necessary since rabies is virtually 100% fatal once contracted. Rabies also spreads more readily when the vector species populations get too large because of insufficient controls, adversely affecting the animal population as well as the human population.
More below on "the horrors of hunting/trapping" for the benefit of all who care to actually base their reaction on facts rather than fuzzy-feel-good emotionalism.
These are management hunts by professionals, not hunts for sport, and are sanctioned by the responsible stat agencies in accordance it's the law. Please don't propagate ridiculous anti-hunting falsehoods.
I don't know what township you're in, but local regulation of firearms is prompted by state law. Of course, there are rules rewarding safety zones around occupied buildings, shooting across roads, etc. that must be obeyed, but a total local prohibition would seem illegal under state preemption.
Venison, turkey, rabbit, squirrel ... Yum, yum.
PA - Furtaking - Subchapter D. Furtaking Regulations 34 Pa.C.S.A. § 2361 - 2364 These Pennsylvania statutes make it unlawful to take, kill, wound, capture or possess any furbearers except during open season and without a permit. It is also illegal to set traps closer than five feet from a den, use a pole trap, deadfall, poison, explosive, chemical, leg-hold trap with teeth on the jaws, to smoke out or dig out any den, to set or place a cage or box trap in the water, or use any trap unless tended every 36 hours and all animals are released or removed. A violation relating to bobcat or otter is a summary offense of the fourth degree; other violations are a summary offense of the fifth degree. Many more animal laws can be found at: www.animallaw.info ; www.agriculture.state.pa.us ; and www.Animal-Law.lawyers.com - these are some great websites to actually find the laws on domestic and wilflife animals, instead of just speculating.
This isn't about taking your guns away or hugging those awful trees or even being a vegan. It's about recognizing that trapping is an outdated, indefensible and unnecessary practice that should be abolished. As for the "conservation" issue I would suggest that very few participants in this activity give a rat's ass about population control or any other convenient justifications and would walk away from the practice if the money wasn't there.