A cougar believed to be responsible for a series of alarming attacks on Vancouver Island farm animals has been killed by conservation officers.
Officer Peter Pauwels says he has been tracking the male cougar for months and suspects about 25 sheep, 10 goats and two alpacas have been killed since the summer.
A call on Wednesday morning about a dead alpaca led Pauwels to a West Saanich Farm, where he came face-to-face with the big cat. Pauwels, confident that it was the cougar responsible for the killing spree, shot it dead.
For those farmers living in the area and worrying about their farm animals, the news came as a relief. But Pauwels said he would have preferred not to kill the animal.
“I hate having to do that,” he said. “In this case with a cougar that's killed that much livestock I don't have any other option. I’m not allowed to relocate a cougar that's done that, it's not something I can even consider doing.”
The cougar is believed to have been about two years old and weighed just over 45 kilograms.
With files from CTV British Columbia’s Penny Daflos
