The owner of a website dedicated to the hunters and anglers of Newfoundland and Labrador is voicing his displeasure after a large pile of dead rabbits was found off Robert E. Howlett Memorial Drive.

In a post to the Backyard Farming & Homesteading NL Facebook page on Saturday, pictures show a pile of some 75 dead rabbits off the road.

Peter Emberley of Totally Outdoors NL says this is an absolute blatant waste of wildlife resources and there is no reason for such waste. He says where the new rabbit hunting season has opened, it appears someone didn’t do anything with the rabbits they had frozen from last year, and just dumped them to make room for this year’s hunt.

Emberley says whatever the case was for getting rid of the old rabbits, there were many alternatives to dumping them.

He says the person who had the rabbits just wanted to get rid of them. People buy rabbits to eat and would be happy to take them. Many are also coyote and bear hunting, and would love the freezer burnt or spolied meat for bait.

Emberley says most hunters try to be ethical and eat what they hunt. It’s a disgusting act by an individual that gives all hunters a black eye, says Emberley.

He says to go out and kill that many rabbits, and just leave them there to rot is a slap in the face to anybody who’s an ethical hunter.