Morons bring destruction on wildlife

The time has come to voice my concern over a situation that’s getting out of hand. The following list mentions only a few examples of a much larger and more widespread problem.

1) While attending a get-together last week the host informed me she and her husband had found, while snowmobiling, an injured Great Horned owl sitting in the snow on the edge of a pond about 20 metres to one side of the trail. They stopped their machines and walked over to the owl, which began hopping away, frantically flapping its huge wings in an effort to get airborne. They noticed the horribly damaged wing and deduced that the owl had been shot. This majestic and beautiful creature was now reduced to a mangled, crippled and starving mess. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe this is a game species

2) Last summer several magnificent fish hawks called Osprey were found dead in their nests or floating in rivers or lakes. Autopsies put the cause of death from lead, but not the ingested kind. All the birds had been shot. I don’t believe this is a game species either.

3) Last winter some ‘dim bulb’ with a rifle decided to take out a Snow Goose that was paddling around minding its own business, in a Central Ontario lake. Again, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t firing at the water with a high – powered rifle illegal?

4) Another event that stirred up controversy occurred when a Trumpeter Swan was shot by a sharp-eyed hunter at the Wye Marsh in Ontario. He probably thought the Swan was a Mallard. I mean after all, those big, funny looking number tags on the wings are practically unnoticeable.

5) Don’t forget the Canada Goose that was found in a public park in Ontario that couldn’t fly because it had an arrow in it’s wing. Park hunting! And in the summer months too! I like the occasional bit of target practice as well, but my targets are always tin cans.

6) Wildlife rehabilitation centres are continually inundated with birds of prey (which are protected under the Game and Fish Act) that have been maliciously shot. Even Loons appear to be fair game with some unscrupulous hunters. The Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary located in Rosseau, Ontario, is constantly brought wild animals of every kind that have been shot for whatever reason. The disturbing thing is that many of these animals are shot out of season and end up only injured instead of dead. Three years ago an orphaned baby bear cub was brought to the sanctuary with a severely infected gash along its one side. Someone had taken a shot at it with a crossbow, but hadn’t quite finished the job.

7) A few years ago a hunter used a German Sheppard dog for target practice in a town approximately 200 km north of Toronto, Ontario. What’s worse is that the dog was on its own property. Police investigated, but didn’t have much hope of catching the idiot responsible. I had no idea dogs had made it onto the list of game species.

Now I for one don’t believe in all the gun control red tape that law-abiding gun owners are being forced to swallow. When traveling into a very remote area I always take a rifle…it’s just common sense. I also want to state that some of my friends are hunters…but they are very responsible hunters and they do not want to see their gun ownership or privileges made more complicated, or removed. Coupled with this is the fact that if they ever saw someone shoot an owl or other non-game species, or conversely, a game animal out of season, these guys would probably make a citizen’s arrest and drag the offender kicking and screaming into a local police station or MNR office.

However, the fact remains that when so many cases abound involving the irresponsible use of firearms, one can’t help wonder whether stiffer gun controls might not be such a bad idea. It’s a wonder firearms haven’t been banned outright because of these morons. Obviously there are people out there who don’t know how to behave when they have a gun in their hands. And I am not just talking about big-city hand gun crime.

Keep in mind that the list of incidents mentioned in this column are only the tip of the iceberg. Most of these sick acts go unreported. It would be quite another matter if the incidents of shooting non-game species, out of season wildlife and domestic animals were rare and scattered occurrences, but they are not. In fact there seems to be more and more of them. It is for this and other reasons that the anti-gun lobby is gaining steam. One certainly wonders what possesses an individual to shoot an Eagle, Owl, Hawk or other non-game species. It is a truly abhorrent act. Furthermore, it’s a shame that these kooks have guns in the first place.

Unfortunately there are individuals with firearms who seem to enjoy shooting anything that moves, or specifically targeting a certain wildlife species just because they don’t like it. Such is the case with certain misguided hunters who target every wolf they see because they think it’s a ‘bad’ species. Believe me, as a wildlife columnist, I have heard some incredible and downright scary reasons why they think wolves should be exterminated.

There is only one truly bad species on this planet, who’s population is spiraling out of control: it is the only species that consistently and widely destroys the very environment it needs to survive: the only species with the ability to completely annihilate its own kind as well as all other life. This creature, supposedly the most intelligent of all species on Earth, is continually at war with its own kind and often kills just for the sake of killing. I am unfortunately describing the human animal. Holding this distinction is certainly nothing to be proud of.

Humans should start questioning their own role and importance before they condemn other forms of life. I hope in future, when someone is caught shooting a protected species, domestic or non-game animal or animal out of season, the full brunt of the law comes down on them – ie. Loss of owning a firearm permanently and jail time, as well as a mandatory psychological examination, since what person in their right mind would derive pleasure from using a dog for target practice, or maiming and killing a beautiful hawk or owl?