Update on Rabbits From UVIC Shot at Coombs Sanctuary

COOMBS — A newly fortified rabbit compound passed its initial inspection by Environment Ministry staff Thursday, saving, for the moment, more than 200 former University of Victoria rabbits.

"This is much better than it was," said Mike Stalberg, the ministry's fish and wildlife section head, as he looked at the heavy-duty wire runs and double gates at the Coombs refuge.
A report will be made to senior ministry officials before any further steps are taken, he said.
"It is an in-between situation. There's still some more work being conducted, but there are some noticeable improvements."

After dozens of rabbits escaped from the sanctuary this month, 30 were shot by a trapper hired by neighbour Barbara Smith, who fears the rabbits pose a threat to her horses, which she keeps in a field next door.

Smith is also angry that the ministry approved a rabbit sanctuary in an agricultural area.
Susan Vickery, who set up the sanctuary, was told to fix the problem of escaping rabbits or the animals would be seized by the ministry.

That would likely mean the rabbits would have to be put down because of a shortage of sanctuary space.

The temporary go-ahead was a relief, Vickery said.
"I know we have to work fast to get it done," she said.
One key to keeping feral rabbits captive is inner and outer fences with extra wire at the bottom sloping inwards.

The escape problem arose because "there was a deviation" from the original plans for two levels of barriers, Stalberg said.

That would not happen again, said Vickery, who has two people working on replacing all the fences.

"We are racing to get this up to spec and we won't bring in any more rabbits until it is done," she said.

So far, about 400 rabbits have been trapped at UVic, but the aim is to capture, sterilize and relocate hundreds more because of damage they cause to the grounds and sports fields.
Vickery is slowly recapturing escaped bunnies and pledged Thursday to step up the pace.
Around the grounds of the Parrot Refuge and in the area bordering the neighbour's field, rabbits can be seen grazing or lying in the sun.

Smith has forbidden volunteers from going onto her land to recapture rabbits. Even those on home turf are not easily convinced to hop into the live traps.

However, there were far fewer loose rabbits than seen previously, Stalberg said.
In the compound, rabbits eat hay and cut-up vegetables, or graze on thistles and grass.
Those that have not yet been sterilized are caged and the moms-and-babies are also kept separately.

"We have had five litters," Vickery said.
All females have an ultrasound before being spayed. If they are pregnant, they are allowed to give birth before being sterilized.

jlavoie@timescolonist.comRead more: http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Upgraded+rabbit+security+Coombs+sanctuary+gets+first+approval/3674672/story.html#ixzz13P8iItgW

Bludgeoned Raccoons

Raccoon deaths prompt B.C. SPCA investigatio

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

The B.C. SPCA is probing allegations that a Vancouver Island man killed two raccoons with a hockey stick.

Witness James Adams, who lives in the Victoria suburb of Esquimalt, said he saw his neighbour bludgeon the two raccoons and throw their bodies into a bush on Sunday night.

"I heard the mother squealing and then he came over and he opened the garbage can and then pulled out the baby and the baby was still alive," said witness James Adam.

"I saw him hit the baby at least 10 times with the hockey stick."

Adam said he believes the man was angry because the raccoons are constantly getting into his unsecured garbage cans.

Erika Paul, an SPCA animal protection officer, attended the scene and found the bodies of an adult female and a young kit.

Paul is also a special provincial constable and can enforce any laws pertaining to the humane treatment of animals.

She said the most important piece of her investigation is how the raccoons were killed.

"Raccoons are considered pests under the Wildlife Act. People do have the legal right to terminate a raccoon that is damaging their property [but] if they do decide to terminate, it has to be done in a humane method," she said.

"I don't believe bludgeoning falls under the category of … humane legal standards, so that's what we'll be investigating here."

Paul said the cause of death won't be known until a post-mortem exam is completed.

Paul said her office gets a lot of phone calls from people who suspect their neighbours are trapping and treating wildlife inhumanely.

She said all such calls are investigated to determine whether or not an offense has been committed.

To avoid the problem altogether, Paul said it's important to eliminate attractants like garbage and fruit on the ground.
She also said residents should refrain from feeding raccoons.
For those looking to remove pests from their property, Paul recommends hiring a wildlife control company to set a live trap and remove the unwanted visitor.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/07/20/bc-esquimalt-raccoons-deaths-spca.html#ixzz0uLpnavgL

New Pest Poses Threat To Cherries

New Pest Poses

Threat To Cherries


Judie Steeves -
Kelowna Capital News Published:
February 09, 2010


A new and devastating pest of soft fruits like cherries and grapes has made its way to North America and was discovered in an East Kelowna cherry orchard last fall. Spotted wing drosophila, a vinegar fly, can destroy an entire crop of cherries in a season, despite its tiny size. And cherry growers who are members of the Okanagan Kootenay Cherry Growers’ Association voted at this week’s annual general meeting to fund a monitoring program that will include trapping, identification and fruit inspection to map the progress of this new pest in the Okanagan, Similkameen and Creston Valleys, where cherries are grown. Entomologists from the agriculture ministry and the Pacific Agri-food Research Centre in Summerland are working with counterparts in California, Oregon and Washington, where the pest was also discovered last year, to put together an emergency management strategy for the fly. Susanna Acheampong, Kelowna entomologist with the ministry, said it’s expected overwintering flies may turn up by May—if there are any—so monitoring must begin before then.Emergency registration of a pesticide to help deal with an infestation may be needed, but it’s not known yet what might work best against it.

A December pest alert from the ministry warned all growers of stone fruits like cherries, peaches and apricots, as well as dogwood, mulberry and berries, that it has been confirmed in the Fraser Valley and Kelowna. On farms where it was found in the Williamette Valley in Oregon in peaches, some growers lost up to 80 per cent of their crop, while in Northern California, about a third of the cherry crop was lost to it last year. It’s native to Asia, but can be transported in ripe fruit like berries, cherries or grapes, where the adult lays its eggs under the skin of the fruit, so the larva have an ample food supply once they hatch.The females can lay 16 eggs a day and average 384 eggs per female. The eggs hatch in two to 72 hours and the larvae mature in three to 15 days. Unlike other “fruit flies,” the spotted wing drosophila infests fruit just before harvest, rather than over-ripe or rotting fruit, which could have a devastating economic affect in the valley. Adults can be blown by the wind to infest new fruit on neighbouring farms or they can be transported by infested fruit to new regions.

Although it was discovered locally last fall, PARC entomologist Howard Thistlewood said there’s no way of knowing whether they will arrive early here, as overwintering adults or if they will come in on supermarket fruit. Okanagan Tree Fruit Co-operative field services manager Hank Markgraf said there’s the potential of five or six generations a season here.“So they can get wildly out of control in one season,” he said. Kelowna grower David H. Geen said it’s important that the ministry sit down with grower groups (including grape growers) to come up with a real plan to tackle the issue.“Look at the effort the country had to put into mad cow disease,” he commented.