Two men arrested in southeast B.C. after deer-cull traps damaged: RCMP

KIMBERLEY, B.C. – Two men have been arrested in southeastern British Columbia after four traps used as part of a controversial deer cull were found damaged.

RCMP Cpl. Chris Newel of the Kimberley detachment says the suspects were seen damaging traps and fleeing to a vehicle on Thursday.

Police tracked the vehicle down on a side road south of the community and arrested the 28- and 30-year-old men.

Newel says police found items they believed were used to damage the traps in the vehicle, and a police dog discovered netting from the traps hidden in bush close to where the men were arrested.

The pair from Invermere, about 120 kilometres north of Kimberley, appeared before a justice of the peace, were released on $1,000 bail, and are scheduled to appear in a Cranbrook court on May 20.

The City of Kimberley is planning to euthanize as many as 30 problem deer before mid-March, but culls have not been popular in nearby Invermere where there were reports in 2011 of cut nets, slashed contractors’ tires, and repellent placed near traps.