Clinton, N.C. — Deer season might be over, but it has left a bad smell for a Clinton family.

They found 22 carcasses illegally dumped on the side of the road. It is a nasty problem wildlife officers face every year.

Retha Rayner was walking outside, when she said the stench almost knocked her down. She could see the remains of several deer, someone had dumped in a ditch near the Cohere River.

"They got the rack and what meat they wanted and just dumped the rest," Rayner said.

It is a problem wildlife resource officers battle every year

"When I was up there in Raleigh, I'd have 15 or 20 tossed out on a road," wildlife resource officer Ruth Ann Cantrell said.

Cantrell said hunters are supposed to bury their deer. Most hunting clubs even provide a lime-filled pit for members' convenience. Yet every season, deer are still found illegally dumped.

The risk of water pollution is an extra danger of deer being thrown out.

"Who wants to drink water that's had a dead animal floating in it?" Cantrell said.

Dumping deer is a misdemeanor in North Carolina.  If caught, violators are charged with littering and face a minimum $250 fine, plus court costs.