A gruesome pile of dead birds was discovered on the outskirts of Ucluelet Sunday afternoon.
Ucluelet local Richard Fadden was riding his bike around the Wyndansea development when he came upon a trail on the other side of the highway and found a pile of what he believes to be seagull carcasses.
“I walked into [the trail] for about 15 yards and turned to the left and found a huge pile of dead seagulls,” Fadden told the Westerly News adding no skulls or torsos were present.
“It was the down and the wings as well; tail-feathers too. No skulls. A lot of the anatomy was ripped out and placed around the pile....There's no hide there. They're all plucked. They're stripped completely.”
He believes the birds were shot and said the discovery was disheartening.
“It angered me more than anything,” he said.
“This was a complete lack of respect. It shows a complete lack of respect for the environment in this region, and all of Canada...Especially out here because the birds out here have a very special gift of where they are from. There's a lot of big surf out here and, if you dedicate yourself and commit yourself to the area, you can see them doing some really fascinating things.”
Unsure of what to do, Fadden moved some of the remains to the side of the nearby highway in an effort to raise awareness. He has since reported his find to the Ucluelet RCMP.
The Westerly News went to the scene and found three piles of bright white feathers mixed with several black ones and other remains that Fadden had moved from the trail to the side of the highway. Scattered feathers lead into the trail to the spot Fadden had discovered the large concentrated pile of remains.