Members of the Shelburne Police Service are asking for the public to assist in solving the following occurrence.

On Monday July 14, 2003, at about 9 am, area residents of Birch Grove and Maple Street, in the town of Shelburne, phoned Shelburne Police to report numerous dead ground hogs.

An Officer of the Shelburne Police Service was dispatched. Upon arrival, a dead ground hog was observed draped through some twine and hanging mid-body from the right post giving access to the private property located at the west end of Maple Street. The ground hog was dead and still dripping blood from the nose.

Two more ground hogs were located further into the fields. At first sight, these two ground hogs appeared to have been mutilated. The second dead ground hog was lying on its back and was being devoured by flies. The third dead ground hog was located about 30 feet away, in the same state.

Two more dead ground hogs were located in the area. These dead ground hogs were bloated from the heat and lying on their stomachs. No evidence of mutilation were obvious on these others.

All these ground hogs were located on private property. The police are attempting to interview the owner of the property. This field is used by dirt bikes and ATV's. Tire marks were around/near all the animals but may be just a coincidence.

Area residents feel it is unusual to see so many dead groundhogs in the same area. Area residents are concerned that these animals were killed for sport. They are also upsetting to the neighbourhood children, especially the hanging one.

Photos were taken of the mutilated ground hogs.
Cause of death of all these animals could not be determined.