A farmer in central Alberta wants answers to the unexplained deaths of nearly 20 deer and a moose.
Glenn Norman said the dead animals were found near Bowden, Alta., this spring, and fish and game officers were immediately called to investigate.
He said 18 deer and one moose were found, along with the remains of coyotes, foxes, owls, hawks and magpies.
A spokesperson for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development said officers quickly ruled out the animals being shot.
"I think it was malnutrition or starvation due to the winter," said Chris Kelly, a district fish and wildlife officer from Red Deer, Alta., who investigated the incident.
"If they have a hard winter, their bodies begin to shut down and even if you they eat and eat and gorge themselves their bodies have shut down to the point that they can't absorb the nutrients."
But Norman said there was plenty of hay in the pasture and it was clear from the decaying remains of the moose that it had eaten well.
Deaths 'very suspicious'
Darrel Rowledge, director for the Alliance for Public Wildlife in Calgary, said the deaths are mystifying.
"This is very suspicious. The first thing that comes to mind is some sort of poisoning," he said.
"This is strychnine or some sort of lethal poisoning. This is not mere winter kill. The odds of this are extremely remote that this would be merely winter kill."
"I could see a couple of deer dead, or four or five deer, but 18 deer? A moose? Coyotes? There's no way in the world. This is a poisoning."
Norman agrees.
He said there is no sour gas activity in the area and the only thing that makes sense is some kind of toxic substance.
"I think it's probably an antifreeze but it has to be an industrial amount of it. They likely licked it off where it was dumped."
Norman said the whole incident is eerie.
"It's disturbing. I'm used to our woods being alive and this spring ... there are only a few animals now."
"There's always a few animals die but it's death on an industrial scale."
