14 Coyote Carcasses

(Bend, Oregon) While walking her dogs in the Deschutes National Forest, Regina Goerke smelled something and followed it to some dead coyotes.

"I saw a couple coyotes, and I said, 'Yeah that happens,'" Goerke told NewsChannel 21. "Then I looked around and saw more and more and more."

What she saw was the carcasses of 14 coyotes all dumped near each other in various stages of decomposition.

Some have clearly been skinned for their hides, which can fetch up to $125, according to wildlife biologists, and some that have just been left, strewn all over. [...]

While there is no bounty paid anywhere in Oregon for coyotes, sheriff's officers say it is perfectly legal to hunt them, as many as you want - with a license.

A sheriff's technician took evidence photos. A ticket for offensive littering is possible.

Goerke said she is "just unspeakably sad."