Local Case Of Animal Cruelty

http://simcoereformer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1159197

Baby squirrels tied together in brutal act of animal cruelty

Police seek tips to find person responsible for brutality
Simcoe Reformer


A brutal act of animal cruelty has police seeking tips to discover who's responsible for tying the tails of baby squirrels together and leaving them for dead in a Simcoe cemetery.


On Thursday, Norfolk OPP were contacted by a citizen who directed officers to the scene at Oakwood Cemetery. At the base of a large tree, five young squirrels, about two months old, were found. The squirrels were joined by having their tails tied together. Due to their fur being matted together officers were unable to determine what was used to tie the squirrels together. It was apparent that the squirrels had been tied together for some time. The squirrels were in different stages of distress.


The squirrels were placed into a box and transported to the an animal rescue shelter in Port Ryerse. Four have since died.


If you have any information that can assist police with any investigation, please call the OPP or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (1-800-222-TIPS)

I seen that, damn sad

Actually, it's not a case of animal cruelty by humans. Cruel act of the Mother Nature and the environement.
From the Reformer:

PORT RYERSE -- Wildlife custodian Denise Boniface had to deal with five squirrels brought to her with their tails heavily entangled.

What police at first thought was a bizarre case of animal cruelty turns out likely to have been a tragic fluke of nature.

But one animal rehabilitation specialist still suspects foul play.

Norfolk OPP were called to a Simcoe cemetery Thursday after a citizen noticed five baby squirrels barely alive, their tails tied together.

Police found the rodents -- four have since died -- in distress. They put out a news release referring to an act of animal cruelty and asking for public help to crack the case.

But after some research, officers learned the squirrels' mother may be the culprit.

"It might not be an uncommon thing that the mother grabs the babies and strings them together," said Const. Jeff Walraven.

Elementary, says Brian Salt, who, over a 25-year career in wildlife rehabilitation, has seen tangled baby squirrels about a dozen times.

"It happens when the mom makes her nest in a pine tree," said Salt, director of Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre in Mt. Brydges. "Pine sap causes the babies' tails to stick together."

The sticky sap can make the tails look like they were fused together, said Salt. "I've only ever seen one case where there didn't appear to be pine sap as a binding agent."

In this case, the tails were so tangled, police couldn't figure out how they were tied.

The squirrels were taken to Bryden's Den Animal Rescue in Port Ryerse, south of Simcoe, and turned over to a rehabilitation specialist.

"It was a mess. It was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen," said Denise Boniface of Bryden's Den Animal Rescue.

The lone surviving squirrel is about two months old and the others were a month or two older, she said.

The squirrels' tails were partly amputated to untangle them. The four that died were too traumatized to survive, Boniface said.

The survivor, which she nicknamed Feisty, is doing well. She'll monitor its health until it's well enough to be set free in a couple weeks.

Though she said she hopes pine sap explains the incident, Boniface has her doubts.

The squirrels that died didn't have much sap on them -- and the survivor is from a separate litter, she said.

That's unusual for squirrels, whose mothers usually scare off strange animals, she said.

"I think there's more to it than pine tar (but) unfortunately I don't think we'll ever know."

Article ID# 1159197


Still sad!

It still almost makes me cry. Those poor little babies

I'm relieved to read that it was just a fluke of nature and not a case of cruelity towards animals as the Police and the Reformer first reported. The CD 98.9 site which is no longer credible was still reporting that all of the squirrels would survive as of noon on Saturday.

This is the weirdest thing I have ever read. Is this some kind of joke? How would the mother squirrel manage to glue different squirrels of different ages together with pine pitch or resin? This doesn't make any sense to me.

When I read this earlier today I was quite skeptical....even more so now that I have reflected on the effort that would be involved to do waht was first alleged. It would take a band of Southern boys experienced in coon and possum hunting to catch these critters...then what?...to glue them together?.....holy smokes ....what a job that would be. most pranksters aren't that ambitious and wouldn't have the attention span to do this...in my opinion.
I think the most logical explanation is a freak natural incident....stranger things have happened.