The antler thief additionally obtained away with 4 hides and a few ammunition
The gathering of stolen European mounts included skulls from each mule deer and whitetails. {Photograph} courtesy Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are searching for details about a mass antler theft that passed off at a residence in B.C. earlier this month. The thief stole 14 deer mounts, together with a bear disguise, a wolf disguise, a sheep disguise, a mountain goat disguise, and a number of bins of .22 ammo.
Authorities with the RCMP first acquired a report in regards to the break-in on Feb. 9. It passed off at an deserted property on 98 Road in Fort St. John, in keeping with a press launch from the company. Officers arrived on the residence to search out the rear door kicked in and all of the deer mounts lacking from the partitions.
The gathering of lacking European mounts included a mix of mule deer and whitetails. The stolen hides have been additionally invaluable and included a cinnamon black bear disguise, images present. Though it’s unclear who owns the deserted property, they have been clearly a hunter (or a household of hunters) who spent years constructing their assortment.
“This assortment represents years of trophy hunts and fond recollections to the household,” RMCP constable Chad Neustaeter stated within the press launch, which incorporates a hyperlink and a cellphone quantity for folks to submit nameless ideas. “Any help the general public can present in doubtlessly recovering these things can be tremendously appreciated.”
It’s unknown if the authorities had discovered any suspects as of Thursday, however Neustaeter requested the general public to maintain their eyes and ears open for anybody who is perhaps making an attempt to promote antlers or hides.
These things can fetch a fairly penny as there’s now a thriving underground marketplace for stolen heads, hides, and antlers in North America. The worth of deer and elk antlers has climbed steadily in current a long time, with prime elk sheds fetching round $20 a pound, in keeping with one antler purchaser primarily based in Colorado who spoke with Outside Life in 2022. He defined that the marketplace for trophy racks is even crazier, with some consumers prepared to cough up $40,000 or extra for a trophy mule deer head.
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Antler theft has gotten significantly dangerous within the American West, the place hunters have had their trophies stolen from backyards, truck beds, and even backcountry campsites. Most of them by no means see these trophies once more as they’re funneled by varied consumers, and the antlers are typically re-purposed and re-sold as canine chews or trinkets. The one exceptions are when a thief slips up and does one thing dumb (like try and promote a particular rack), or when an sincere antler vendor or pawn store dealer calls in a suspicious merchandise.
“It used to not be a factor, nevertheless it looks like it’s turning into extra prevalent today,” a neighborhood police sergeant in Wyoming instructed OL. “I feel most of these items is pushed by cash, and I feel it’s a kind of markets the place it’s straightforward to do away with. Antlers are straightforward to cover, reduce up, or eliminate.”
