Feature ArticleNovember 19, 2001
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Man arrested for shooting ponyby David BrisonTips from the community and dedicated police work have led to the arrest of a former Arden resident, age 33, now living in Bellville, in connection with the death of a pony belonging to the children of Derek and Barb Matson of Arden. The pony was shot and the head was cut off. The dead pony was found on Friday November 9.
The individual charged was arrested on the weekend and held in custody until a bail hearing in Kingston on Monday. On Monday he was released on his own recognizance.
Barb Matson said that the OPP constables who worked most closely on the case, Howard Huggard Randy Cota, and Bruce Grant, were, Amazing they followed up on clues provided through the community and kept us informed. I am glad that the individual which did this has been identified, it provides closure for my children.
The Matsons say that the incident has been very difficult for their children who frequently rode the pony and regarded it as a pet. Their youngest son Cody, 3, had difficulty understanding that the pony was gone forever. He thought that the pony could get fixed with a Band-Aid and be back again.
Derek, a hunter himself, has been teaching his son Chase, 6, about hunting explaining things like how you should never shoot at an animal if you arent sure the area you are shooting into is clear and also that you identify what you are shooting at clearly before you fire. Derek says Chase had trouble believing that anyone could have shot the pony. Chases reasoning is that if I as a child know not to do it, then an adult surely should have known.
Two rewards had been offered for information leading to the identification of the person(s) who shot pony.
A group of Arden area residents collected money and were able to offer a reward of $1000 for information leading to the conviction of the person(s).
In addition, the Humane Society of Canada has offered a $2500 reward.
The person was allegedly jack lighting and thought he was shooting a bear. When he realized he had shot a pony, he panicked and cut the head off to destroy the evidence.
Many area residents who are hunters are incensed that the incident has been described as a hunting accident. A frequent comment is, this has nothing to do with hunting and shouldnt be described that way it only serves to give hunters a bad name.
