One dead in single-vehicle crash north of Sault Ste. Marie
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CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Clean up discarded fishing line, conservation group says, after 3 cygnets died after becoming tangled
Watching a trumpeter swan cygnet die was not on Louisa Lamberink-van Wijk's list of things to see during her birthday this year. Lamberink-van Wijk, who is the vice president of the Halton Hills Turtle Guardians, was having her birthday dinner around 8 p.m. on Tuesday when she saw a post in a local Facebook group about trumpeter swan cygnets all tangled up in a fishing line. She then received a call from Peter Duncanson, the president of the same organization, about the cygnets. She rushed over to help, but it was already too late. "Two were obviously dead," she said. "The one that was alive was swimming around, dragging the other two along with him as [best] as he could because… that's heavy for a young swan to do that." With some help from Duncanson and other volunteers, Lamberink-van Wijk was able to gently untangle the third cygnet. She took it home hoping to save its life and get it to a rehabilitation facility, but the young swan also died a few hours later. Discarded fishing line, lead sinkers an issue Trumpeter swans seemingly vanished from the Ontario landscape in the 1800s, until dedicated efforts were made to bring them back and monitor their numbers in the 1990s and early 2000s. Today, trumpeter swans are listed as "not at risk" in the Species at Risk Act's animal registry, thanks to the efforts of groups like the Trumpeter Swan Conservation of Ontario. Nevertheless, Laurel Ironside, a licensed bird bander at the Trumpeter Swan Conservation Ontario, expressed concern about the fact that they see trumpeter swans getting caught on discarded fishing lines on a weekly basis. "We don't want to lay blame [on anyone]," she said. "There's good anglers and there's bad anglers." Ironside said most of their swan rescues are caused by discarded fishing lines and lead sinkers. Ironside said lead sinkers affect not just many of the trumpeter swans that they rescue, but also other waterfowls. On Prince Edward Island, a study from the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown found that lead sinkers and ammunition caused nine per cent of deaths among Maritime bald eagles. "It's a frustrating thing because we've educated the public for years already," Lamberink-van Wijk said. "It's not something, 'Oh, that will never happen to me.' It definitely does happen." 'I'm very disappointed' While the cygnets were found in Halton region, Lamberink-van Wijk's frustration is something shared by Paul Kroisenbrunner, the current treasurer and former president of Kitchener Waterloo Cambridge Bassmasters. "I'm very disappointed that some anglers would not be responsible enough to take their waste and dispose of it properly," he said. "We pride ourselves within Ontario and our overall parent organization [in the U.S.] as being conservation-minded." Kroisenbrunner said it's not often that he hears about swans and other animals being tangled up in fishing lines within their community. "Wildlife in general, all species of animals have a right to a clean and healthy environment," he said. "That's why we promote conservation, cleaning up after yourself, taking all your garbage with you and not leaving it on riverbanks or in parks or anywhere else where anglers are doing something that we love to do." But there are things a responsible angler can do, says Lamberink-van Wijk — the easiest one is to ask for help. She says people may feel embarrassed when they hook or get an animal tangled with their fishing line and they may just "cut the line and get out of there because you may not want people to know that this happened." "If you hook an animal, call the wildlife centre, call somebody that can help, set aside the fact that you're embarrassed, and just fess up," she said. "Help the situation because in the end, you're going to help an animal." To prevent similar situations from happening in the future, Lamberink-van Wijk says education is the number one tool. The most obvious lesson from this unfortunate event, she says, is for anglers to make sure that they collect all their fishing gear before leaving. "After weekends, we pick up handfuls of [fishing line] along the shoreline, and animals do get tangled up," she said. "Don't leave it behind because animals get stuck and killed." To report trumpeter swans in distress or that need rescuing, send the Trumpeter Swan Conservation of Ontario a message on their Facebook group
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Historian wants to return WWII medals to family of N.B. veteran George Mann
A Saskatchewan author and historian wants to return a set of Second World War medals to a New Brunswick veteran's family. John Brady McDonald said the medals belonged to George Mann, who was born in Liverpool, England, in 1905 and moved to Canada after the war. Mann served in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, which McDonald said was "kind of like the supply chain aspect of the Royal Navy." Mann immigrated to Canada after the war and then married Alice Margaret in Saint John. McDonald's research doesn't say exactly where Mann resided but that he lived in New Brunswick. McDonald has been searching for Mann's relatives since April. He said Mann received the 1939-1945 Star, the Atlantic Star for specific service in the Atlantic Ocean, and the Africa Star for being a part of the campaign in Africa. McDonald said duty in the Atlantic Ocean meant "dodging German submarines and German aircraft trying to take out the convoys that were feeding Britain at the time." Returning veterans' possessions is a project McDonald began in 2022 as a way of honouring military veterans. "That's my way of saying thank you to these veterans and it's something that's very important to me to be able to ensure that our history is not forgotten any more than it already has been," said McDonald, who even covers the cost of framing and shipping the medals. He has returned six sets of medals, a veteran's headstone and a family ration book. But to date, he has never returned anything to family in Atlantic Canada. McDonald got the idea of returning veterans' memorabilia when he learned more about his late grandfather's service. He wants to give families that same experience. "So many times when I've returned medals, not only did they not know that their grandfather served in the Second World War, they don't know what he did." McDonald is a civilian instructor with the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps and he wants to ensure the stories of sacrifices made by veterans are shared. "We need to understand those ancestors of ours, those grandfathers, those great uncles, those fathers who stood up to fascism, who stood up to oppression, who stood up to the ultimate hatred that we had in the world at the time." He is also concerned about medals being sold as antiques in pawn shops or estate sales. "I wanted to make sure that, you know, our veterans' sacrifices weren't in vain," he said. McDonald said the majority of the medals he receives are sent to him by people who stumble across them. The process of finding relatives can be as quick as days or more than a year. He starts with a name and uses online searches and social media to try and track people down. A lot of his "cold" calls go unanswered, which he understands. But when there is an answer, McDonald said relatives have "immense gratitude and appreciation" for his work.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
N.S. SPCA cancels some municipal bylaw contracts amid staff burnout, rising costs
The Nova Scotia SPCA has cancelled half of its municipal contracts for bylaw enforcement or kennel services, saying it must focus resources on handling the rising number of surrendered animals across the province. In March, the SPCA wrote to eight of the 16 municipalities where it provides either animal bylaw enforcement, kennel space or both, to say it would be ending those contracts. The end date for most towns or regions was late June, while the Municipality of East Hants was given until March 2026. Heather Woodin, chief of animal operations for the SPCA, said their special constables across the province were dealing with "burnout" as they juggled bylaw calls alongside animal protection work, such as neglected or abused animals. "They have to choose to prioritize which case to go to first, if they have multiple priorities pulling them in different directions," Woodin said Tuesday. "We don't necessarily want to be the service provider that is looked to, to enforce animal-related bylaws." Animal control or dog bylaws vary by municipality across Nova Scotia, but enforcement often means responding to complaints of barking, aggressive or stray dogs, or picking up dog poop. Woodin said the animal protection workload has increased, as the SPCA is seeing more surrendered pets from Nova Scotians who can no longer afford to care for them. "The cost of living overall is affecting the SPCA, it's affecting the community members as well," Woodin said. The charity is also experiencing its own rising bills, Woodin said, and more animals coming into shelters means it's hard to keep a kennel free for stray dogs picked up under bylaw enforcement. Financial statements from the SPCA's annual reports show their budgets have more than doubled in the past few years. In 2024, expenses hit $11.5 million with shelter operations costing $4.8 million. Back in 2020, shelter operations cost $1.9 million out of the $5.1 million total expenses. Woodin said cancelling the municipal contracts was a "cost neutral" move to the SPCA, which helped them come to their decision. She said the overtime pay, and mileage for staff to respond to bylaw duties, added up to the point where they were not bringing in surplus revenue from the contracts. The eight affected units are the towns of Stewiacke, Wolfville and Yarmouth, and municipalities of Pictou County, District of Argyle, District of Clare, District of Yarmouth and East Hants. These were chosen based on an evaluation of the staff and physical resources within the six SPCA shelters across the province, Woodin said. The impact of the change has varied across the province, with some municipalities already moving on with solutions, while others need more time. Wolfville already has compliance staff with animal-control training, and is using a local dog rescue group for kennels as needed. But Argyle Warden Nicole Albright said that approach is difficult for them, and they are still exploring their options. "[In] small rural municipalities, our staff are already so overworked and you know, it's hard to throw [them] something else," Albright said. The SPCA is supporting municipalities through the transition, Woodin said. If municipal staff need training or support from an experienced animal handler on a call, they can pay for the bylaw enforcement service as long as resources are available. Stewiacke took this approach, as the town council decided in July to budget about $8,000 to cover the SPCA expenses until March 2026. By then, staff said, they hope to have found a solution with neighbouring East Hants. "There are not many options out there. We will continue to look," Marc Seguin, chief administrative officer, said during the council meeting. The eight remaining contracts are with the Halifax Regional Municipality, Cape Breton Regional Municipality, District of Antigonish, Membertou First Nation, Town of Truro, and the municipalities of Barrington, Colchester and Kings. As of now, the SPCA has enough resources to deliver those contracts, Woodin said, and they don't have "current plans" to end them. But, she said, they will monitor the situation to see if changes are needed in the future.
