Saskatchewan is one of the most beaver- ignorant provinces in Canada, and that’s saying something. They have had beaver bounties, beaver culls, and have provoked some of my most acerbic writing. Don’t believe me? Put the word ‘Saskatchewan’ in the search bar on the right and see what comes up. It is arguably true that I am prouder of my ‘exploding beaver‘ riff than I am of almost anything I’ve ever written, so I suppose I owe them that. As remarkably backwards as their thinking was last year and the year before that, I have to admit I’m still surprised that it isn’t getting any better.
Rural Municipality of ML to crack down on beavers
Beavers beware.
The Rural Municipality of Meadow Lake is going after its beaver population, taking advantage of two government programs funded through the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities.
Five beaver bounty hunters have been selected, and they will turn in beaver tails from areas the RM identifies as having especially serious beaver problems. A total of $3,500 has been allocated, which will pay bounties on up to 234.4 tails.
The joke is that 234 beavers, of course, can’t ‘beware’ or do anything whatsoever to prevent their slaughter. Nor could you if steel body-crushing traps were buried near your work or home. Come to think of it, you’d have better odds than the beaver, because humans shirk their responsibilities, play hookey, have affairs and don’t turn up where they’re expected every day like beavers always do. Beavers are so reliable we know exactly how to kill them. They are incapable of ‘being ware’. Doesn’t that make this article witty?
The article goes on to list the municipalities that will be funneling tax-payer dollars to pay for all this beaver death. It’s amazing the way Saskatchewan forks over money to liquidate the animals. Of course they COULD use that cash to install culvert protection and wrap some trees and the have some money for next year to spend on parks, senior programs, or school lunches. But where’s the fun in that?
Of course, just as when Regina did the same thing last year, we can expect a population rebound that will send ripples of new beavers upstream, because when you kill all the beavers in an area, the ones you invariably missed will have more food and bigger broods next spring. This means you will do this all again in 2013. What city will be next to try Old World solutions to new world problems? You can be sure you’ll read about it here.
