Is there anything illegal about dumping a wild animal carcass in Central Park?

Question

Related to a certain confession, statute of limitations might have kicked in, but is anything illegal (such as littering, for example) about dumping a wild animal's carcass in Central Park?

Answer 1

Given that the confession involved a car, I'd suggest that this page about illegal dumping from the NYC Sanitation department might be a starting point:

Illegal Dumping

It's ILLEGAL to dispose of any type of material or debris by vehicle and dump it on any street, lot, park, public space – public or private.

But there is also this

Litter

It's illegal to leave trash on the sidewalk, in the street, or any other public space, or to throw it out building windows or vehicles.

Answer 2

This seems to be a pretty clear violation of NY game laws.

from https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-york/6-NYCRR-1.31#:~:text=Any%20person%20who%20takes%20a%20bear%20must%20report%20as%20specified,outside%20any%20type%20of%20vehicle.

(1) Any person who takes a bear must immediately fill out completely, using indelible ink, the bear carcass tag and cut out or mark with indelible ink the month and date of kill where printed along the edge of the carcass tag. The taker must also attach the bear carcass tag securely to the bear, except that the tag does not need to be attached while the bear is being dragged or physically carried by the taker to a camp or point where other transportation is available. It is unlawful for any person to remove the tag until the bear is prepared for consumption. Any person who takes a bear must report as specified in section 180.10 of this Title.

(2) It is unlawful for any person to transport or possess a bear without the bear tag attached to it. The carcass of a bear can be transported inside or outside any type of vehicle.

Not a lawyer, but I am a hunter in NY. I would have to look up exactly what it means to "take a bear" to see if that part applies -- I don't know if picking up roadkill counts. I suspect it doesn't, as the bear was found dead.

Transporting a bear without a tag, though, is not legal in NY regardless of how the bear was taken or found.

When RFK related the story, he said that he could have gotten a tag. He never said that he did get a tag. I don't believe that he did. If he did, it would have been unlawful to remove it when he dropped it off in Central Park. The bear was found without tags, or it wouldn't have caused a mystery when it was found. Presumably, it was never tagged, or the tag was removed. If it was never tagged, that would be on RFK. I suppose it's possible that somebody encountered the bear in the park and removed the tag. In any case, game laws were clearly broken, but exactly how they were broken and by who might require some investigation.

So that's at least some of the relevant laws, but there's also the laws of nature, where messing with bear cubs is sort of like Russian Roulette, risking an encounter with mama bear.