Conservation must find person who poisoned eagles
Dear mayor and council:
It’s heartening most of a dozen poisoned bald eagles will live after being rescued last week in North Cowichan.
Details of this disturbing case allegedly involve someone failing to euthanize, using tranquilizers, then properly bury a farm animal which the eagles later dined upon.
I demand and expect our busy conservation officers to find, fine and charge whomever was responsible for this shocking poisoning — the most recent assault on our bald eagle population that has also been poached during the past few decades.
Claiming a mistake in the poisoning should be no argument.
This recent eagle poisoning is eerily reminiscent of a landmark case in the 1980s involving dozens of eagles near Nanaimo.
That’s where a farmer later admitted to cutting open a euthanized cow so eagles and other birds could feed on the innards.
Sadly, many eagles died from the legal toxin injected in that animal.
The silver lining from that tragic incident spawned our world-class North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre near Errington where animals and birds are treated toward release.
The veterinarian in that and our recent local case was Dr. Ken Langelier, renowned for treating eagles and other poisoned wildlife.
Education and citizen awareness about poisoned, shot, trapped and suffering wildlife is the front line in helping save wild creatures and preventing such tragic incidents.
Indeed, fines and jail terms are certainly due in court to folks who fail to respect wildlife.
Peter W. Rusland
Duncan