| Jan 24, 2008


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Feature Article - January 24, 2008 Ailing Moose shot near Cloyne

This docile moose drew a crowd of onlookers and photographers before meeting a sad end. photo: Cathy Hook.

A cow moose that spent most of this past Monday at the side of Hwy. 41 near Road 506, was eventually shot at the behest of the Ministry of Natural Resources.

According to Ron Raymo, a local resident who was on the scene, the moose likely was suffering from so-called “moose disease”. The disease is caused by a parasitic roundworm that is carried and transmitted by white tailed deer. Losing the fear of humans is one symptom of the disease, as is weight loss.

“A moose of that size should have weighted 700 lbs, and this one didn’t weigh 400,” Raymo said.

Constable Lefebvre of the Kaladar OPP detachment, said two cruisers spent time at Cloyne on Monday morning, trying to shoo the moose off the highway. When the moose didn’t run off, but stayed by the side of the road, the OPP called Conservation Officer Dave Palmer of the MNR Tweed Office.

The decision by the Ministry of Natural Resources to kill a moose at the side of the road at Hwys 506 and 41 last Monday was made because of a perceived threat to public safety, said MNR Official Robert Walroth. “Whether the moose had so-called brain disease or not, and we will test it to find out, is not a reason for us to put it down. It is not our policy to interfere with the life cycle of wild animals,” he said. Walroth said that he first received a phone call from the OPP about the moose, and he advised them to clear the scene to give the moose a chance to return to the bush. He then heard back that the moose had not left the side of the road and he called in David Palmer from the Tweed office. When Palmer informed him that the moose was posing a risk to public safety, Walroth authorized Palmer to kill the moose.

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