In Collingwood, one misguided officer of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has brought shame and loathing to an honourable institution. The horrendous torture and deliberate killing of an animal, by means of a police vehicle, is nauseating, vile and cruel. At first thought to be a coyote, it turns out to have been an old, deaf dog who wandered away from home. Whether dog or coyote, this action is so deranged as to be alarming in someone called to keep the peace.
The OPP have apparently apologized to the grieving family, but people are dissatisfied. There have been demands through social media for the officer to be prosecuted for animal cruelty and to be discharged from duty. Other angry people have more extreme ideas.
Coyote Watch Canada (CWC) has a measured, rational response. This organization asks people to write the OPP and suggest that officers be trained in sensitivity and proper wildlife response. CWC has done this successfully in many other communities.
CWC states: “We are hopeful that the OPP will re-evaluate their response protocol and bring in the appropriate support and partners to ensure this does not happen to a family pet or wild animal, be it a coyote or other species, moving forward.”
If you’d like to help, post a message to the OPP Facebook page, email them at oppa@oppa.ca, through their website, or write Ontario Provincial Police Association, 119 Ferris Lane, Barrie ON L4M 2Y1. And leave a comment here and share our Facebook link to this post.
Taking positive action goes a long way to relieve the nausea and distress of repeatedly re-imagining this traumatic event.
2 Comments
I just learned of this online petition, begun by Collingwood Animal Rights Advocate Group, calling for action against the police officer who committed this offence, & for better wildlife response training. See https://www.change.org/p/mayor-susan-mayor-sandra-cooper-detachment-commander-inspector-john-trude-charge-and-suspend-the-collingwood-officer-who-brutally-killed-an-innocent-dog/sponsors/new?utm_medium=email&utm_source=signature_receipt&utm_campaign=new_signature
Hi, please add my name to your petition. I tried to log onto it but I am not on Facebook. The actions of this officer were totally unacceptable, whether the animal had been wild or domesticated; in this case an old and deaf dog. I am a resident of Toronto, but never the less it made news here too and it was quite disturbing to even imagine the officer’s impulsive, thoughtless and horrific response.