There’s a word for poachers – in addition to several others that we can’t print here – and that word is greedy.

This comes to mind after hearing about a bear’s carcass found in a ditch on Millfield Road this past weekend. Whoever killed the animal lopped off its head and back paws as obvious trophies, but decided the rest was garbage. Wasteful, there’s another epithet to describe poachers. And when the person or persons responsible for killing the bear are caught, they should be charged with that gross waste.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Conservation Police also reported that they determined the animal was killed before the firearms bear season began, which was this past Monday, and continues to this Saturday, Dec. 7.

That’s where the greed comes in – that poachers won’t wait and want to get the choicest parts for themselves before anyone else.

Our hope is that the guilty party is found and suitably punished. What effect, if any, that might have is a question mark, of course.

Meanwhile, responsible hunters in Western Tidewater are marked to a certain extent by the misdeeds of the poacher(s). Non-hunters will blithely group and condemn them all in a single breath.

Poaching, like other serious crimes, should not be ignored or condoned. We urge anyone with information relating to the aforementioned deed to come forth and report it. If you have any information on this crime, contact the Wildlife Crime Line at 1-800-237-5712.