Warning: Graphic image is contained in this story below.
The Innu First Nation of Pessamit in northeastern Quebec woke Wednesday to find the bloody remains of several moose hung on the sign at the entrance of their community.
“We don’t know who did it or what state they were in. We can’t presume what their intentions were, but it’s a gesture where someone wants to send a signal to the people of Pessamit,” said André Côté, Pessamit’s director of territory and resources.
The two moose heads and four calves hanging from the Pessamit sign Wednesday morning are believed to part of another gruesome discovery in the forest two days earlier.
Ten slaughtered moose, including six calves in the woods north of nearby Forestville were found on Monday.
Quebec’s Ministry of Fauna and Wilderness is investigating witness accounts that Indigenous hunters may be involved. Photos of the carnage, including unborn calves cut from their mother’s stomach, created an outrage on social media.
“The community is really shocked by the images that have been circulating because it doesn’t correspond to the culture they practice or their values,” said Côté “The Innu council of Pessamit wants to signal that they are not okay with the actions of these individuals in any way and we are collaborating with the ministry of fauna protection in the investigation.”
Côté said it’s too soon to say if either of the acts were by Innu or non-Innu people.
“The people of Pessamit are quite affected by this. It doesn’t correspond to the way they do things and we don’t want people to generalize the whole community based on these facts,” Côté said.
The incidents immediately followed Pessamit’s annual culture week, where the community, located 600 km from Montreal, encourages the sharing of traditional knowledge.
“It’s really too bad that this happens so soon after our cultural week where we had elders showing their culture to people, with beautiful exchanges with regards to food and hide preparation, as well as traditional storytelling,” said Côté.
“Then all of sudden we have this event that’s so unfortunate.”
I do not think that the aboriginals have ever been treated good by the governments that have stolen their land. Judged through ignorance!! This is their land and it is about time that we all realize we are all flesh and blood and start treating each other as equals. I hope the seventh generation is rising up and killing that black snake!! Water is life!! and we all need to work together and stop letting ourselves be divided by Ignorance!
I do not think that the aboriginals have ever been treated good by the governments that have stolen their land. Judged through ignorance!! This is their land and it is about time that we all realize we are all flesh and blood and start treating each other as equals. I hope the seventh generation is rising up and killing that black snake!! Water is life!! and we all need to work together and stop letting ourselves be divided by Ignorance!
This doesn’t look like “hunting” at all but a killing field, whomever did this is sick. The sign is also very disturbing, it turns my stomach to see these images. Whomever did this crime, no matter where they come from should be held responsible. We should not finger point as we don’t know what lead to this ghastly, senseless loss of life.
Very sorry to the community for the loss of these majestic animals.
– sad First Nations/French Canadian
This doesn’t look like “hunting” at all but a killing field, whomever did this is sick. The sign is also very disturbing, it turns my stomach to see these images. Whomever did this crime, no matter where they come from should be held responsible. We should not finger point as we don’t know what lead to this ghastly, senseless loss of life.
Very sorry to the community for the loss of these majestic animals.
– sad First Nations/French Canadian
Wow
I have seen this in Alberta where the spruce chaps shot 4 cows in February and only took the noses and tongues.
If they want treat hunting rights Year around, they can do it with home made bows and arrows.
After living near reservations for over 50 years I am sick and tired of the natives abuse of hunting, the littering and free hand outs.
I guess if you pay taxes you can have an opinion. If you don’t pay taxes, sit down, shut up and open another beer.
A long jail time should be in order
Plus life time hunting ban
Life time gun ban..no matter who it is
Wow
I have seen this in Alberta where the spruce chaps shot 4 cows in February and only took the noses and tongues.
If they want treat hunting rights Year around, they can do it with home made bows and arrows.
After living near reservations for over 50 years I am sick and tired of the natives abuse of hunting, the littering and free hand outs.
I guess if you pay taxes you can have an opinion. If you don’t pay taxes, sit down, shut up and open another beer.
A long jail time should be in order
Plus life time hunting ban
Life time gun ban..no matter who it is
Hate it wen this happens,I am an aboriginal an I hunt moose but never during at this time especially killing cow with babies that is just sick sick sick!!!!Need to be educated,soon they’ll be no moose!!!
Let me tell you what I think happened here… I’m guessing these moose were killed by the natives of the area, or maybe poachers, the carcasses were exposed by someone who sees the wrong in this. The reason for this tragedy is that natives or poachers hunt out of season, and especially in the winter, moose gather up, so when you find them, it’s the mother load and it becomes a caribou hunt but for moose, this cannot happen unless we want to strip the moose population right down.
Local Natives should abide to the same laws we do. The laws are there for a reason, its to protect these animals. Killing 10 moose while only harvesting 4 is not a successful recipe for the security of the moose population and it’s future. There’s a reason why we hunt these animals in the fall, and not in March or April, how is one able to identify a bull moose from a cow when the bull has no antlers?…….you can’t,
Quebec has many WMU’s (hunting sectors) where you can’t hunt cow moose due to it’s low population……now we know why.
I respect natives, i really do, and I do believe that they should probably have some kind of special treatment in regards to hunting. Maybe allow to moose hunt between September and December like the rest of us so matters like this won’t repeat itself.
6 calf moose were killed for no reason, but really, these 6 could’ve turned into 20 over the years. Also in regards to caribou, the season for hunting them has closed due to mass killings which led to a massive population decrease. There’s a problem here folks. My message to the MNR is wake up!!!
Let’s take care of our moose so our heirs can enjoy the same pleasures in hunting for years to come.
for what it’s worth, I am a 40yr moose hunting veteran
Have read the TREATIES “BOY!?!?”
WE HAVE HARVESTING RIGHTS ,AND YOU DONT !! MAYBE THAT IS SO MUCH JEALOUSY ON YOU AND THE OTHER NON NATIVE ,some of are OL’PEOPLE that’s the way of OUR CULTURE AND TRADITIONAL WAYS , TO FEED OUR PEOPLE AND TRADITIONAL FOOD .NOT TO BE IGNORANT BUT…SUCK IT UP !!! WE HUNT FOR ARE PEOPLE NOT TO PUT UP A HEAD TO TRY TO SHOW TBAT WE ARE MEN!!!
Are you daft? Slaughtering this many creatures, including multiple calves, has nothing to do with exceptions to hunting laws for indigenous tribes. While the rules for hunting seasons may be different for First Nations people, the principles of morality and conservation still apply. These actions were carried out by someone with no value for the natural world, whether indigenous or otherwise. Changing the allowed hunting season for First Nation tribes would not do anything to prevent someone with such a lack of morality from committing an atrocity like this, and allowing open season for indigenous people in no way promotes or encourages this type of brutality. Get a grip.
Yes, your theory makes sense.
And to Gerry, treaty rights or otherwise, there is a difference between having the right to do something, and doing the right thing.
Hate it wen this happens,I am an aboriginal an I hunt moose but never during at this time especially killing cow with babies that is just sick sick sick!!!!Need to be educated,soon they’ll be no moose!!!
Let me tell you what I think happened here… I’m guessing these moose were killed by the natives of the area, or maybe poachers, the carcasses were exposed by someone who sees the wrong in this. The reason for this tragedy is that natives or poachers hunt out of season, and especially in the winter, moose gather up, so when you find them, it’s the mother load and it becomes a caribou hunt but for moose, this cannot happen unless we want to strip the moose population right down.
Local Natives should abide to the same laws we do. The laws are there for a reason, its to protect these animals. Killing 10 moose while only harvesting 4 is not a successful recipe for the security of the moose population and it’s future. There’s a reason why we hunt these animals in the fall, and not in March or April, how is one able to identify a bull moose from a cow when the bull has no antlers?…….you can’t,
Quebec has many WMU’s (hunting sectors) where you can’t hunt cow moose due to it’s low population……now we know why.
I respect natives, i really do, and I do believe that they should probably have some kind of special treatment in regards to hunting. Maybe allow to moose hunt between September and December like the rest of us so matters like this won’t repeat itself.
6 calf moose were killed for no reason, but really, these 6 could’ve turned into 20 over the years. Also in regards to caribou, the season for hunting them has closed due to mass killings which led to a massive population decrease. There’s a problem here folks. My message to the MNR is wake up!!!
Let’s take care of our moose so our heirs can enjoy the same pleasures in hunting for years to come.
for what it’s worth, I am a 40yr moose hunting veteran
Have read the TREATIES “BOY!?!?”
WE HAVE HARVESTING RIGHTS ,AND YOU DONT !! MAYBE THAT IS SO MUCH JEALOUSY ON YOU AND THE OTHER NON NATIVE ,some of are OL’PEOPLE that’s the way of OUR CULTURE AND TRADITIONAL WAYS , TO FEED OUR PEOPLE AND TRADITIONAL FOOD .NOT TO BE IGNORANT BUT…SUCK IT UP !!! WE HUNT FOR ARE PEOPLE NOT TO PUT UP A HEAD TO TRY TO SHOW TBAT WE ARE MEN!!!
Are you daft? Slaughtering this many creatures, including multiple calves, has nothing to do with exceptions to hunting laws for indigenous tribes. While the rules for hunting seasons may be different for First Nations people, the principles of morality and conservation still apply. These actions were carried out by someone with no value for the natural world, whether indigenous or otherwise. Changing the allowed hunting season for First Nation tribes would not do anything to prevent someone with such a lack of morality from committing an atrocity like this, and allowing open season for indigenous people in no way promotes or encourages this type of brutality. Get a grip.
Yes, your theory makes sense.
And to Gerry, treaty rights or otherwise, there is a difference between having the right to do something, and doing the right thing.
I have no words to consume console. My heart is sick over this. I’m so sorry your community experienced such senseless killing and insult.
I have no words to consume console. My heart is sick over this. I’m so sorry your community experienced such senseless killing and insult.
no native would ever do this..
This is very disturbing . The culprits got to be found and given proper punishment for such gruesome act.
no native would ever do this..
A-holes are everywhere!
Heart-crushed to hear of this, to see bloody murdered babys, their mothers also killed in horrendously unhuman actions approved of BY NO HUMAN CULTURE, Innu or other! I only know of one group who have done bizarrely cruel & bloody acts to put hunters & hunting-based cultures in bad light. It is the antihunters, and they have been known to be attracted to events such as Pessamit’s welcome days for the public, where deerhide preparation instruction was offered. That would have set off the antihunters. I hope your local investigatory forces will start down that lane. Remember the Boston Tea Party were patriots who dressed as they saw local Native Americans look, to disguise themselves. This is still a common means of disguise, and they may have circulated among Pessamit’s visitors dressed in such disguises. I hope there are videotapes available of visitors to eliminate all visitors you can verify identities of, and check license plates about the evennt. Best of luck in your perp-hunt, and my deepest sympathys. I know that true hunters will mourn the probable unlawful & unreasonably painful murders of your moose. I always strived for the quickest, cleanest kill of my harvested whitetail deer and turkey. I chose bowhunting for that reason, rather than bullets, and now I’m quite crippled, too painful to walkabout or even dress to go out to the woods much. But I love my prey, value their venison and respect anyone who hunts with the clean/quick kill as their priority, who hunts by local laws. we have to respect our wildlife management biologists&law enforcement who have brought back american wildlife to huntable numbers & health, though our weakness in allowing development rob habitat lands will only increase the deathknell that our human pollution is killing our natural world by.
Sick! Twisted human to have done such a thing. Word of mouth will find the answer.
This is very disturbing . The culprits got to be found and given proper punishment for such gruesome act.
I truly hope they find who was responsible for this. It is such a tragedy and so cruel.
A-holes are everywhere!
Heart-crushed to hear of this, to see bloody murdered babys, their mothers also killed in horrendously unhuman actions approved of BY NO HUMAN CULTURE, Innu or other! I only know of one group who have done bizarrely cruel & bloody acts to put hunters & hunting-based cultures in bad light. It is the antihunters, and they have been known to be attracted to events such as Pessamit’s welcome days for the public, where deerhide preparation instruction was offered. That would have set off the antihunters. I hope your local investigatory forces will start down that lane. Remember the Boston Tea Party were patriots who dressed as they saw local Native Americans look, to disguise themselves. This is still a common means of disguise, and they may have circulated among Pessamit’s visitors dressed in such disguises. I hope there are videotapes available of visitors to eliminate all visitors you can verify identities of, and check license plates about the evennt. Best of luck in your perp-hunt, and my deepest sympathys. I know that true hunters will mourn the probable unlawful & unreasonably painful murders of your moose. I always strived for the quickest, cleanest kill of my harvested whitetail deer and turkey. I chose bowhunting for that reason, rather than bullets, and now I’m quite crippled, too painful to walkabout or even dress to go out to the woods much. But I love my prey, value their venison and respect anyone who hunts with the clean/quick kill as their priority, who hunts by local laws. we have to respect our wildlife management biologists&law enforcement who have brought back american wildlife to huntable numbers & health, though our weakness in allowing development rob habitat lands will only increase the deathknell that our human pollution is killing our natural world by.
Sick! Twisted human to have done such a thing. Word of mouth will find the answer.
I truly hope they find who was responsible for this. It is such a tragedy and so cruel.