Remind me never, ever to say October is a great month for beavers again. That was a stupid thing to say.There is no great month for beavers.
So the little Hamlet of Wolseley Saskatchewan is reeling today after the surveillance camera outside a bakery found footage of four men beating a beaver to death with a chair. If you can stand it go watch the news report above and if you can’t stand it at least read this and write a letter.
Many people in the small community of Wolseley are disgusted and disappointed after hearing word that a beaver was brutally beaten to death Friday.
“I’m sad to think we have people that would do that sort of thing,” said local resident Joselyn Linnell.
Residents of the community say surveillance video from a local bakery showed four men leaving the local bar, then grabbing a chair to beat the beaver.
“The beaver hissed at them and they beat it to death with a chair,” said Linnell. Many residents in the town are upset that the incident took place.
“Very ashamed, this is a good town with good people in it,” said Candice Malo of Wolseley. “Doing that to an animal is disgusting.”
Linnell said the beaver has been wandering around the community for about a year.
“We have beavers in town because we have a lake and a dam,” said Linnell. “They are here naturally, so he was seen as a friendly guy.”
RCMP say they’re investigating. According to Animal Protection Services, if any animal is inhumanly killed, the guilty party could see a maximum penalty of 18 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $25,000.
You won’t be at all surprised to lean that Wolseley is in Saskatchewan- the region most notoriously ignorant about beavers in the entire hemisphere and a place that for the last five years has held bounties and kill contests to eliminate them. Four drunken men don’t swing a single chair, and if there was an ounce of social decency or pressure in the entire community the other three would turn him in. But of course that won’t happen because beavers are ‘pests’. And why not kill a pest with a chair?
I started my day by writing the town administrator, the environmental minister of Saskatchewan and the head of the region. Maybe you should to? At the moment there are only TWO news stories about this horrific event on the entire internet, and I think that needs to change right away.
Here’s the open letter our friends at Furbearer Defenders just sent.
Dear Premier Wall,
It was with sickening sadness that we read the news of a group of men using a chair to beat to death a beaver late last week.
We have no doubt that your government will work with police to ensure that those involved in this deplorable act of animal cruelty will be swiftly identified, charged, and convicted for their crimes. The Fur-Bearers, a national organization with more than 70,000 supporters, is today contacting the RCMP detachment investigating to put forward an offer of a reward to assist their efforts to identify the culprits.
Although your government would never condone such actions, we fear that attitudes leading toward such behaviour is endorsed by policy.
Beavers are a keystone species that are essential to healthy ecosystems. They are sentient, family-oriented animals that create and maintain habitats that encourage biodiversity and provide invaluable ecological services to a country that, in many ways, idolizes their hard work and perseverance. But promotion of ongoing beaver culls, and a lack of humane education or compassionate planning options have, even if subconsciously to the public, encouraged the idea that beavers are disposable pests or commodities.
We urge you, Premier Wall, to speak out against these actions, and show the rest of Canada – and the world – that the people of Saskatchewan are compassionate and believe in co-existence.
The Fur-Bearers would be proud to work with you or your office in developing educational materials at no cost on co-existence, compassionate conservation, and science-based policy.
Regards,
Lesley Fox
Executive Director
The Fur-Bearers
Thank goodness their letter was picked up by Yorktown this week and they are offering a reward for information on the assailants. Help the out by donating here:
I’ll be more outraged tomorrow, but this morning I’m just heartbroken. I hope that little unlucky beaver died right away.
