INWOOD — Three headless chicken carcasses were found piled up in Inwood Hill Park Wednesday, near trees in Gaelic Field, witnesses said.
Resident Sky Pape was walking her dog about noon when she spotted the birds, which had been left lying on the grass.
"They were fully feathered chicken bodies without the heads," she said. "They were quite large."
Pape told Parks Department employees about the chickens right away and they told her they would remove the carcasses, she said.
This is the latest instance of parkgoers discovering mutilated animals in their greenspace.
On March 3, a man found a severed goat head in Prospect Park. Two days later, a woman spotted decapitated rooster heads arranged in a clay pot, decorated with feathers.
Pape, an artist who has lived in Inwood since 2001, said this isn't the first time she's seen dead chickens in the park.
"I’ve seen dead ones once before and I’ve seen live ones that have escaped such a fate and been seen wandering around the park," she said, adding that she hadn't spotted any chickens there in more than a year.
Parks Department officials said Friday afternoon that they had not recieved previous complaints about headless chickens, and that they advised residents to report such discoveries.
"It is illegal to kill or harm animals in parks. If you see this activity in parks, please call 911," said the Parks Department in a statement. "To report conditions in parks, including the finding of animal remains, please call 311."
