New concerns as hunt continues for snakehead fish
Posted June 8, 2012 6:35 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BURNABY (NEWS1130) – They want to save the turtles. Two women with the Homefinders Animal Rescue Society are wondering why the Ministry of Environment is going to euthanize fish, turtles and frogs in a Central Park pond in the effort to catch the snakehead fish.
The ministry is drawing down the water, to make it easier for crews to find the menacing but so far elusive snakehead. The koi fish, turtles and bullfrogs are not indigenous to the pond, so they will not be saved.
Hilary Wilson realizes that the turtles and fish don’t really belong in the pond, but feels destroying them is unnecessary. “The problem with this is the ministry is slaughtering them all. We have stepped up and said we have placements for these animals. The ministry doesn’t care. They just want to end their lives.”
Merina Mohr notes what they’ve done in the past is adopt out the turtles to responsible animal lovers.
“And they sign a contract with the society we belong to, stating if they can’t take care of the turtle any more, they turn it back to us. We tag them, so that we can keep a record of them. If they show up in a pond, we know where they came from.”
She says they can even find homes for some of the koi fish, as people look for them to occupy ponds at home.
The turtles wind up at the pond, after their owners decide they can no longer look after them. Wilson estimates there about 23 turtles in the water.
