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Parks Canada is investigating a suspected poaching incident involving waterfowl at Point Pelee National Park.
They say it happened sometime between 8 p.m. April 23 and 8 a.m. April 24 in the marsh area of the park — and are looking to hear from anyone who’s aware of a firearm being illegally discharged, or about suspicious people or vehicles.
“Poaching is a serious offence under the Canada National Parks Act,” the government agency said in a statement.
Officials are interested in collecting dashcam footage from the park entrance, marsh boardwalk or Blue Heron day use areas during this period of time.
Debra Parker is a regular visitor to Point Pelee and says she believes it was a nesting female swan that was shot, because of photos taken by her good friend, a regular park visitor who observed a dead swan and reported it to park officials.
“It’s very disturbing,” Parker said, of the possibility of a person with a gun in the park.
“I hope they find the person that did this … there’s no explanation for it though.”
Parks Canada would not clarify the type of bird poached when asked by CBC, and did not specify in its notice.
Melissa Hargreaves lives in Chatham but works in Leamington and frequents the park.
Hargreaves says she took pictures of the female swan the day before.
“She was just sitting on her nest peacefully … pruning herself with like feathers, taking some feathers out,” she said. “Then she got up, spun around, she moved her eggs because you have to spin them to keep them warm. She was really chill, very calm and relaxed.”
She calls the poaching “awful” and hopes whoever was responsible gets caught and receives the maximum penalty.
“My heart was broken. It’s so sad to see somebody do that.”
Wallaceburg resident and photography enthusiast Larry Strung visited the park Apr. 12 and took photos of his own.
“I was surprised to see that the swans had nested to so close to the boardwalk. I was thinking that nesting so close to the boardwalk they’d get disturbed each time people pass by because they’d always remark on the swans … I never imagined that somebody would cause harm to them.”
“Their grace, their beauty … they mate for life … I don’t know what the male’s going to do now that the female’s been harmed.”
