Toronto man accused of attacking raccoons to face lesser charge - what are your thoughts

Most of you would of heard about the man in Toronto that was being charged for attacking a family of raccoons with a spade in Toronto.  Well yesterday, July 13th, 2011, the charges against this man have been lessened. It looks like he could receive a $10,000 fine and up to 18 months in jail if he is convicted.

From the article in the Toronto Star

"Camille Labchuk, spokeswoman with Lawyers for Animal Welfare, said the Crown should have stuck with indictable charges.

"Animal cruelty cases should generally be pursued to the full extent of the law to provide that deterrent factor and protect human public safety . . . given the strong link between animal violence and human violence," she said.

“It sounded like a young child was being thrown around,” said Roddy Muir, who lives near Bloor St. W. and Lansdowne Ave. Muir warned his neighbour he would call police.

“I said, ‘Why are you doing this?’ ” Muir recounted. “He swept his arm around and said ‘They’re destroying my garden.’”

At Back To The Wild, we practice the safe and humane removal of wildlife. This case has made us really think about what people are thinking about and the wildlife around them.  We have dealt with a lot of cases that people just want the wildlife killed, or taken far, far away. These are not the answers to solving your wildlife problem. The animals have become urban dwellers and have adapted extremely well to urban living. Taking them out of their environment strips them of everything they know and understand. Many species of wildlife are territorial. If they are moved, even a few kilometers away, consequences can occur. The new territory would be unfamiliar, food and water sources would be unknown, but also the wildlife that already live in this territory, would violently defend their area against the newcomers.

Trapping and removing individual animals from around your home will create gaps that other animals will compete to fill. You may have a warm and cozy den site for a skunk under your porch. If you trap and relocate that skunk, your porch will still continue to be a warm cozy den site for any other skunk. Research done by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has shown that the chances of survival for the relocated animals are minimal. Therefore, it has been stated under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, Ontario Regulation 665/98, section 133, it is illegal to relocate wildlife.

We do understand that problems occur with wildlife, and we can offer solutions to help you deal with the wildlife humanely while still keeping the balance between the humans and wildlife.


We would love to hear what you think about this animal cruelty case.

To read yesterday's article please go to: http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/1024261--toronto-man-accused-of-attacking-raccoons-to-face-lesser-charge