Reward Offered in Animal Shooting Incident

By Bobbi Zane

Rewards totaling $3,500 are being offered by two animal support organizations for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting animals with arrows in the Banner area.

San Diego Animal Advocates offered the initial reward of $1,000 in January and the Humane Society of the United States added $2,500 to the reward a few weeks later. The reward offers came after a barrage of media publicity recounting a pair of incidents in Banner Canyon in which a domestic cat and a raccoon were shot in the neck.

The media exposure led both organizations to post the rewards...and for the same reasons. The shootings were determined to be cases of animal cruelty.

"Police believe that a crossbow pistol was used and that the shooting was intentional," according to the Humane Society spokesperson Paul Bruce. "The connection between animal cruelty and human violence is well documented."

Anyone who knows anything about these incidents is urged to contact San Diego Animal Service Department at (619) 746-7307. If the information leads to the arrest of the perpetrator, the informant will receive the rewards.

Officials of both organizations stress that they will protect the privacy of anyone who comes forward with useful information.