Wannabe beaver butcher sets leg-hold trap at creek
Marcel Tetrault , Comox Valley Echo
Published: Tuesday, October 16, 2007
At least one leg-hold trap was set on Brooklyn Creek this weekend, an apparent attempt to trap and probably kill the beaver or beavers that have spent the last couple of weeks damming the creek.
"It was really shocking. I was just horrified when I saw it," said Careth McNutt, a park neighbour who walks her dog in the area frequently and came across the trap on Sunday when walking with her son and his wife.
"Whoever put it out is totally irresponsible. It makes me worry that more have been set overnight."
But when McNutt checked the area where the rusty-looking trap had been set on Monday-directly on top of the beaver dam near Guthrie Road, a natural spot for children playing in the area to cross the creek-the trap had not been replaced.
The trap, she said, doesn't only present a risk to the beavers that built the dam but also to neighbourhood pets and children who frequent the area. The trap was ready to spring when she came across it and her son tripped it with a branch.
"I guess because of the colour of it, even though it was right in the open, we didn't see it right away," said McNutt. "It just kind of blended in.
"It was in a very vulnerable spot for kids and pets. Just about everyone along here has a pet and kids. If a dog or a deer stepped in that--can you imagine? Or a child? I can guarantee a lot of children come down here."
It is assumed that an individual set the trap and not the Town of Comox, whose staff removed the beaver dam one-and-a-half weeks ago when it first appeared, but calls to the town were not returned by Echo press time.
There was also an unconfirmed report of a second beaver trap on another part of the creek.
"I'm going to be forever nervous about my dog being near the creek anymore," said McNutt.
The beaver dam appears to have been strengthened over the weekend, increasing the danger of flooding in nearby homes.
© Comox Valley Echo 2007
http://www.canada.com/vancouverisland/comoxvalleyecho/story.html?id=a17c0d3b-5b66-448d-9494-dee619a21bc0
Char & Ziggy