It’s hunting season, and sadly that brings a disturbing issue to the fore again in Pike County.

Discarded deer carcasses – the gutted remnants of the hunter’s success – are once again being littered throughout the county in remote areas.

This most often takes place in the rural areas of the county: Banks, Pronto, the Pocosins, and more. The carcasses are even surfacing inside city limits, and it’s disturbing.

The illegal dumping of animal carcasses poses significant health and safety concerns. While most hunters are responsible about the disposal of the animals, many are not, choosing to blindly and recklessly dump what they don’t use in any remote area they find.
County employees are limited in what they are able to do to offset the issue.

The road department employees will attempt to clean up the carcasses when they are notified, but the effort adds to already heavy workloads. And, sadly, they are not always contacted about the problem.

The answer lies in self-policing and self-control. Hunters need to take the time to properly dispose of the carcasses, burying the animals away from water sources or donating them to local animal refuges or “zoos” which can use the carcasses for food. And hunters need to remind others of the dangers and concerns of illegal dumping.

It’s not a pleasant issue or pleasant topic, but it’s one that needs addressing.

Our county and it’s natural resources are too valuable, too beautiful to continue to disrespect with illegal dumping.