The Ontario Provincial Police are seeking the public's help in finding the person who killed a protected animal.
Officers responded to an apartment building on Tecumseh Road East near Banwell in Tecumseh at around 9:30 a.m. on Monday, January 13, to investigate a report of a bird being shot nearby. The bird turned out to be a young cooper's hawk, which is a protected species under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act. Constable Jim Root said the bird was rushed to a nearby veterinarian, but it did not survive.
The OPP is working with conservation officers from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry on this case. According to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, the penalties for shooting a specially-protected species are a fine of not more than $25,000, to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both.
Anyone who may have heard gunshots or noticed anything unusual in that area on January 13 is asked to give the OPP a call at 519-723-2491. Anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).