MORRISONVILLE — Police believe piles of skinned carcasses discovered recently were likely those of wild animals that had been trapped and killed for their pelts.

This week, State Police were alerted to two sites of carcasses: one found Thanksgiving Day near the Kent Falls Road bridge and one reported a short time later in the thick woods off Kimberly Lane.

A downstate couple made the grisly find at Kent Falls after smelling the deceased animals, all of which are now believed to be wild dogs.

Authorities said about seven animals were located at that site.

Police were later called to another wooded area a few miles away, where they found the decomposing bodies of a number of small animals, including what appeared to be a fox, raccoon and muskrat.

He said the second site was found along the power lines deep in the woods off the residential street.

Lt. Charles Potthast said the deaths are not being investigated as cruelty cases.

He said the animals involved are those routinely trapped for the sale of pelts.

None of the animals were domestic, he said, relieving the concerns of residents who were left wondering whether someone had been intentionally killing pets in the area.

“They were all wild dogs,” Potthast said Friday.

“We’re not looking at anything we have to be really, really concerned with.”

According to the Department of Environmental Conservation, it is trapping season for most small animals in northern New York.

E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg at:

avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com