PHOENIX – Arizona wildlife officials are offering a $500 reward as part of their investigation into the “ugly spectacle” of a dead bobcat found hanging in a tree.

The animal was retrieved Wednesday from an illegal leg trap hanging in a tree on Tucson’s east side, near Colossal Cave Road and Mary Ann Cleveland Way, the Arizona Game and Fish Department said.

The bobcat had been seen alive in the area recently.

“Poachers are criminals. They are thieves who steal wildlife from Arizona citizens,” Raul Vega, Game and Fish regional supervisor for Tucson, said in a press release.

“In addition, hanging the bobcat from the tree was an ugly spectacle in public view that was especially cruel if the bobcat was still alive when placed there.”

Anybody with information about the incident was asked to call the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Operation Game Thief Hotline at 800-352-0700 and reference OGT#23-000455.

Tipsters have the option of remaining anonymous.

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