Our badger friend Susan Kirks of Petaluma’s PLAN wrote last night alerting me to a truly depressing bit of animal husbandry. Seems there was some unidentified growling coming out from under a parked vehicle in Forestville so an animal control officer came out and shot it. Chris Smith for Press Democrat
BADGERED, BOTH: No one felt good about what happened after a houseguest in Forestville heard wild noises the other night and peeked beneath a parked ca
You can imagine the sensations that coursed through him as he spied a growling badger. His hostess, Arrow Olesky, figured the animal posed a threat to people, pets or both and dialed 911. A county animal-control officer drove out to Olesky’s place. And shot the badger. Olesky feels terrible but figures she did the only thing she could do.
The only thing she could do? Really? How about the garden hose? How about that tried and true method called “walking away and coming back in ten minutes?”. Well, this pie of blame has at least two pieces and the smallest one goes to the Olesky’s. I assume when they heard animal control was coming out they thought something intelligent would be done – some bit of fur-bearer management that would save their pets and keep the wildlife lovers happy. I don’t suppose they thought animal control would drive out all that way at night to stick a rifle under the car and shoot it.
If you want to express your outrage for some bad stewardship and worse decision making, you can write the Press Democrat and the director of Animal Control Amy Cooper. I did.
It’s not as if Badgers don’t have a hard enough life anyway. Check out these unexpected photos from a kayaker in the Klamath via a friend of Brock Dolman.
