September 1, 2005
VANCOUVER - The discovery of a severely malnourished, 1.2-metre (four-foot) caiman in an east Vancouver house has renewed calls by animal-welfare groups for a ban on the sale and possession of exotic animal species in Vancouver.
Vancouver police discovered the caiman, a member of the crocodile family native to South or Central America, in a residence in the 1900-block of Grant Street after they responded to several calls from neighbours about shots being fired inside the premises.
When police arrived about 7:30 p.m., they found a male suspect attempting to flee after injuring another man.
"It appears to be a targeted attack," said Vancouver Police spokesman, Const. Howard Chow.
"What we think happened is this person came up to this apartment looking for a victim--or intended victim--tries to shoot him a number of times, misses, then starts to assault him."
Police sent a dog in to search the residence and found the caiman in a bedroom.
The reptile was found sitting under a heat lamp next to a child's wading pool holding about an inch of water.
Paul Springate, curator of reptiles and amphibians at the Rainforest Reptile Refuge Society, was called by police to help rescue the animal. His first observation when was that the animal was in critical condition.
"It's emaciated," Springate said Wednesday. "Very, very close to dying."
"His eyes are not properly opened -- it only has half-opened eyes. Its backbone is showing. I, myself in my career, having worked closely with 40 or so crocodilians of all types, have never seen a crocodilian with its backbone showing."
Springate added the reptile has a bloated stomach and several open sores and lesions on its body.
Springate found the caiman close to a 20-kilogram bag of dried dog food, which he believes it was being fed.
"This animal put up very little resistance, very little fight, which is really sad. You want them to be whaling their tail around, saying, 'You get off me or I'm going to bite your arms off.' That would be healthy."
Caimans usually subsist on a diet of fish, small mammals, birds and waterfowl.
Tuesday's discovery of the animal has prompted various animal welfare groups to renew calls to the City of Vancouver to enact an exotic animal bylaw.
Peter Fricker, director of communications at the Vancouver Humane Society, said Wednesday his group has asked the city to look into banning the sale and ownership of exotic animals.
City officials are currently studying the possibility of introducing such a bylaw, and will be opening up the results of the study for public discussion in the fall.
Springate believes the enactment of such a law is long overdue.
"In the City of Vancouver, it is illegal to have a chicken in a private residence, but you're allowed to own a cobra, a crocodile, or a man-eating python," he said.
"I think it's crazy, and I think it should be outright illegal to own . . . these animals. They are not pets. They are wild creatures --they're part of ecosystems and they do not belong in people's bedrooms."
The caiman is currently being cared for in Surrey by the Rainforest refuge, a non-profit educational group that is fully staffed by volunteers.
Meanwhile, the suspect in the shooting is in custody and charges against him are pending.
dsun@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2005