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Police probe intruder's brutal attack in Owen Sound bird sanctuary
Feb 21, 2007 04:30 AM
Roberta Avery
SPECIAL TO THE STAR
OWEN SOUND–In what police are calling a "senseless and brutal act," a female mute swan has been found bludgeoned to death at the bird sanctuary in Harrison Park here.
"We're shocked. It's very disheartening to see a gentle and docile bird so viciously attacked," said David Lang who found the swan Monday morning with its head bloodied and smashed from an apparent beating with a large stick.
Lang, who has worked at the bird sanctuary for 17 years and knew the swan well, said he was devastated to see the carnage caused by the brutal attack.
"It was pretty sick," he said yesterday, pointing to the blood-splattered snow where he found the bird's body.
"I can tell you the guys were still pretty quiet over coffee this morning. Everyone is upset," said Lang, a lead hand at the park.
A single set of footprints in the snow led to where it's believed the assailant climbed up a snow bank to scale the 1.5 metre high fence to gain access to the area where the park's 18 mute swans live year-round.
Owen Sound Acting Sgt. Brent Baker said police are taking the incident seriously and sent an identification unit to the park to seize and photograph any evidence. "The bird will be missed by the park users and park staff."
Lang estimated the swan to have been about 20 years old and said mute swans, native to Britain, Europe and Asia, often live for more than 40 years.
Two more birds – a black shoulder peacock and a Reeves pheasant – were found dead in their cages at the sanctuary yesterday. Although there was no visible sign of trauma, police have sent the bodies to the University of Guelph for examination.
Swans are often considered symbols of grace and serenity, but in the last 12 years people are said to have deliberately killed at least 10 swans in Ontario alone. Last fall, a trumpeter swan nicknamed J.J at the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre near Midland suffered serious injuries to its wing when it was harassed by a boater who repeatedly circled a group of swans. A fundraising campaign to help cover J.J's veterinarian fees raised more than $3,000 and the bird is recovering, although it will never fly again.
The centre's Chris Michalek is at a loss to explain why anyone would go out of their way to attack a swan, but did say that sometimes people mistake normal swan behaviour and body language for aggression.
"Some members of the public are quite fearful of birds and swans are large birds," she said.
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Swans targeted by hunters and vandals
October 2005: A $1,000 reward is offered in the second killing of a trumpeter swan in just over a year at Luther Marsh Conservation Area near the town of Arthur. A hunter's shot fells the bird. Says the park superintendent: "Maybe it was a mistaken identity, which is pretty tough to imagine when you're looking at a seven-foot wingspan white bird and thinking it's a duck."
December 2004: Two goose hunters near Tottenham's Woodington Lake Golf Club shoot three mute swans. In July 2005, they plead guilty and are fined.
February 2004: A man in Exeter, England, is sentenced to three months in jail for killing a swan by beating it and smashing it against a concrete path.
December 2002: The natural resources ministry discovers the bodies of two adult trumpeter swans and a cygnet off Highway 24 near Cambridge. In March 2003, the Galt Sportsmen's Club offers a $500 reward for information leading to the conviction of the "scumbag" responsible for killing the rare swans that nested on Puslinch Lake.
August 1996: At the Wye Marsh wildlife sanctuary, near Midland, a marina operator finds a female swan's decapitated body.
June 1994: Two white trumpeter swans are found with their necks broken at Mill Pond Park in Richmond Hill. A third black swan is missing, presumed dead. Hand-crafted signs read: "WANTED! The ugly subhumans who murdered our trusting swans. Reward."
Compiled by Peggy Mackenzie, Star Library. Source: Star files
