Black bear found dead in plastic bag, officials say

ARLINGTON, Va. — Authorities in Arlington, Virginia, were contacted about a dead animal that was found inside of a plastic bag.

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A black bear was found by a walking trail near Spout Run Parkway in Arlington Friday night, according to The Washington Post.

At first, animal control thought the plastic bag contained a dead dog but it turned out to be an adult bear, WRC-TV reported.

Jennifer Toussant, the chief of animal control, and a conservation police officer from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources went out to the scene to remove the bear and investigate the incident the Animal Welfare League of Arlington said, according to the news outlet.

The bear is expected to undergo some forensic examinations, officials said, according to WRC.

“It is definitely not normal nor day to day,” said Chelsea Jones, spokesperson for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, according to the Post. “I’ve been with the AWLA for eight years and I have never received a report of a call like this. I don’t think any of our officers have received a call like this.”

It’s not clear how or why the bear ended up in the plastic bag, according to the Post.

According to Virginia law, a black bear can be killed if is trying to hurt a person. A conservation police officer must be contacted immediately. Anyone who killed a bear for this reason or to contact authorities immediately can face up to 12 months in prison, a $2,500 fine and will be prohibited from hunting, trapping or fishing in the state for up to five years, the newspaper reported.

“Even if it had just been a report of a deceased bear, that in and of itself would have been unusual. The additional information that it was in a large plastic bag is the really unusual part,” Jones said, according to the Post.

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