Cormorant Defenders International Media Release
Bloody Carnage in Provincial Park
Staggering cruelty documented at government bird slaughter
May 29, 2006: Wings blown apart by gunfire, legs fractured into a hundred pieces, deep wounds and damaged bodies- the aftermath of the double-crested cormorant slaughter on High Bluff Island in Presqu’ile Provincial Park near Brighton, Ontario has left experts and veteran campaigners reeling.
According to veterinarian Mary Richardson, “This is much worse than I imagined. In all my years as a vet, I’ve never seen such a wasteful, brutal and callous way of dealing with animals. It’s a veritable bloodbath on High Bluff Island.”
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has been slaughtering cormorants in the park, a world-renowned birding destination, by the thousands as part of a five year management plan. The stated goal of the slaughter is to protect trees on High Bluff Island, but none of the trees are endangered or of special conservation concern.
Another slaughter observer, biologist Rob Laidlaw had this to say, “I’ve gone out each day after the shooting and the suffering I’ve witnessed is unbelievable. Imagine shooting thousands of deer and then leaving whoever wasn’t killed cleanly with the first bullet to fend for themselves. Hobbling through the forest with legs blown apart, ears shot off and wounded, twisted bodies, no one would stand for it. That’s what it’s like for the cormorants in Presqu’ile Provincial Park. And they don’t try very hard to help the injured birds.”
So far, the slaughter has been conducted on May 15, 16, 24 and 26, as the MNR tries to reach their goal of 3,000 birds killed. The birds are shot while sitting on their nests incubating eggs or tending young.“Cormorants incubate their eggs for 21 to 27 days and they started nesting at Presqu’ile in mid-April. It’s inconceivable that parent birds with young were not butchered, leaving the babies to burn in the sun or die of starvation,” said veterinarian Mary Richardson.
“The cormorant slaughter has been conducted in an unethical and underhanded way with every dirty trick imaginable being employed in an effort to kill the birds. The Ontario Provincial Police denied observers an opportunity to document the slaughter. Everything about this cull was seedy and disgusting. The public needs to know what’s going on,” said Julie Woodyer, Campaigns Director for Zoocheck.
Monday May 29, 2006, 11 am
Queens Park Media RoomVideo footage of crippled and injured cormorants will be available
Further information: 416-285-1744, 416-462-9541