FINDLAY, Ohio — UPDATE: Adam Snyder, a private citizen in Oak Harbor, is offering a reward of $1,000 to anyone who provides law enforcement or the Ohio Division of Wildlife with a tip or evidence that leads to catching a suspect, he told WTOL 11.
Snyder says if authorities confirm the tip led to the arrest of a suspect or suspects, police will help connect the person who provided the tip with him and he will reward them.
ODW communications specialist Sarah Schott says Snyder is offering the reward privately due to ODW policy mandating reward money be placed into a statewide pool, so it cannot be guaranteed all the money goes to one individual.
She also said there have been no more reports of injured animals since WTOL 11 first spoke with her at the end of July.
The original story is below:
Editor's note: The story below contains graphic images of injured geese and squirrels with darts piercing their faces. Viewer discretion is advised.
Animals at Riverside City Park in Findlay are facing an issue: someone is injuring them with darts.
"Doing something like that is not only just unethical, it's just plain wrong," said Tom Adams, a resident of Findlay.
Adams in his spare time is a wildlife photographer. But last Saturday, while riding a bike through the park, he stumbled upon a gruesome scene: a goose standing near the water with a dart pierced through the side of its face.
"I happened to see one, and then literally a few hours later, I saw it on the local Facebook group that 'hey, somebody's been shooting these darts at these geese," Adams said.
He's not alone in witnessing the ugly sight.
Kayla Farr and her 5-year-old son, Wyatt, were at the same park just two days later when they stumbled upon a squirrel with a dart stuck in its face, nearly piercing its eye.
"I was just really hoping that that wasn't it, and as I got closer, I realized that it was," Farr said.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife District II office in Findlay says it has received multiple calls about similar incidents since July 18.
"We have had at least 14 phone calls to the Ohio Division of Wildlife," said ODW communications specialist Sarah Schott.
Schott says the division has taken reports for three geese and a squirrel.
So far, two of the injured geese have been found and had to be euthanized, which Schott says she's never seen before.
"This is the first one I have heard of," Schott said. "Out of curiosity, I did Google to see if it's ever happened before. Looks like it's happened a few times in some other states, but as far as I am aware, this is the first time it's happened in the area."
Schott also advises people to note the difference between small-game hunting and committing a crime.
"The primary difference between this mischief and legal hunting is that one is very legal and ethical, very conservation-minded, and the other is just malicious intent," Schott said. "Hurting wildlife for no particular reason, and causing this undue harm to wildlife."
Section 1501:17-3-05 of the Ohio Revised Code states that "no person, unless authorized by law is permitted to possess or use firearms of any description, air pistol or rifle, slingshot, paintball gun or missile-throwing device within any nature preserve or natural area."
This also includes blowguns, which are a primary mechanism for darts of the kind that have been found in the animals at Riverside Park.
"In those hunting seasons, we are often using firearms or bows, and when it comes to squirrels and geese, we are using firearms," said Schott. "Blowguns or blow darts are not a legal form of take to harvest those animals."
The city of Findlay says that "With the exception of individuals properly licensed to carry a concealed handgun under Ohio Revised Code Section 2923.125, no person shall have or carry any firearm, gun, pistol, stun gun, switchblade, hunting knife, slingshot, metal knuckles, nunchaku’s and other martial arts weapons, or any potentially dangerous lethal instrument or weapon on or about his/her persons or under his/her control in any City Park and/or Facility."
So while investigations by the ODW and the Findlay Police Department continue, residents remain sad, frustrated and concerned for the animals in the park.
"There is no word for how awful this is," Farr said. "This squirrel, he was still moving and eating and he was getting around, but I knew that he wouldn't even be able to climb a tree."