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PA&GE 4, WEDNESDAY AUGUST 8,1984, WHITBY FREE PRESS Michael Ian Burgess, Pi The only Whltby newopaper Independently owned and operated by Whltbyi [ Pubiluhed every Wednesday By M.B.M. PUBLISHING * and Photography Inc. Phone 668-111 The Free Press. Building, ubllsher - Managlng Editor* 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. resîaents for Whltby residents. MICHAEL J. KNELL Communlty Editor CON WAY DOBBS Advertlslng Manager Second ClosMilU RegistraUoo NO. mi5 It seems to us no one wants the reaponsibility Who's responsible for urban wildli*fe control? A few weeks ago, the editor of this.newspaper listened ta «a conversation between North Ward Councillor Ross Batten and Tom Hughes, the executive director of the Ontario Humane Society. Batten, as chairman of the Pickering-Ajax- Whitby Animal Contrai Cammittee, wanted ta know who was respansible for the management and cantrol of urban wildlife. It seems as though Batten had been receiving a few camplaînts from a few 'Irate local taxpayers who had their backyar- ds invaded by hungry and somewhat Immovabie raccoons.1 According ta Batten,' these people calied the O.H.S.'s Thickson Rd. N. animal shelter for help oniy ta be toid that there was nathing the saciety could do ta help them, unless of course, the animal .was ln some kind -of distress and needed medicai attention. As the discussion pragressed, Batten was ln- formed by Hughes that neither the Ontario Ministry of -Natural Resources nor the Game and Wlldlife Service of the fede-ral government are prepared ta aid the citizen with this kind of prablem. Furthermore, the mast the O.H.S. wili do is suppiy the homeowner wlth the annoying rac- coon, skunk, porcupine or fox with a trap with which ta capture the-animal. The resident must then set the trap, bait it, and after capturing the animai transport It ta a rural area and release It. This sounds ail very Innocent except for one thing: if the O.H.S. does ' pot Ilke the way the trap was set or the way the animai was handled then, at Its own discretion it can criminaiiy prasecute the citizen invoived. What annoys this newspaper Is that flot everyone is *adept at handling animais and what this means is that an untrained persan couid be Ilable ta criminal prasecutian for trapping an animal when he already pays taxes for the provision of this service. Another fact that bath shocked and annoyed us is that, according ta Hughes, an animal sufferlng f rom, a suspected case of rables is, not ciassifJed as an animal in distress - s0 If you think that strangeiy behaving raccoon in your backyard is rabid, yau're on your awn. If you kiii it, or have someone else do it.as a means of pratecting the health of yaur family make sure the head is saved for testing. Oh, If the animal isn't rabid, you are once again liable ta criminai prasecution because the trained prafessianals working for the O.H.S., the Ministry af Natural Resources and the Canada Game and Wildllfe Service won't lift a fînger ta help yau. By the way, ail three say the respansibility for these animais beiongs ta one of the other twa. Despite aur poor attempts at humar, this Is not a haughing matter. Our neighbaurs worry and Wild animais are neediessiy sufferlng because not one of the three agencies mandated by iaw ta contrai them wilh fuifili theirrespà'nsibi hties. If these animais were found ln the wild, then the ministry and the federal service wouhd be on the scene ln seconds. But, because we are taiking about wiid animais who stray into urban areas, everyone loses interest. 1The contrai and management of bath wlld and damestic animais costs the taxpayer a con- siderabie amount of maney - money most of us dan't begrudge because It is In the best interests of aurseives and aur children to preserve and care for the best that nature has ta offer. This newspaper wouid iike ta see some of that maney spent ta assist hameowners hurnaneiy deal wlth those raccoons, skunks, foxes and parcupines that stray into aur backyards. Hughes told Batten that "for everyone who wants ta get rid of these raccoons and skunks, there are half-a-dozen who love them and want to- protect them." We want these animais iaved and protected and wey re paying a hast of seasaned, trained prafessionals ta do the job. It's about time they started cdoing It. R eader criticizes NDP for changing policies to suit union needs Dmear Sir: On the' evening the election was called Mr. Ed Broadbent stated the first thing an NDP government would do would be- to eut the flow of Canadlan investmèrit dollar to foreign coun- tries. I presume Mr. Bison; the NDP candidate in Ontario Ridlng is in agrement with bis par- ty leaderon this issue which Mr. Broadbent seems te be convenlen- tly forge tting during the election campaign. If by theapathy of the electorate the NDP are elected to govern, or to a position of balance of power in a miority government after the electing, wiil the NDP pursue this pollcy? Will the NDP impose investment restrictions on Canadian dollars te ail foreign countries? Including< Cuba or will the restrictions, only be aime at the U.S. Grade and mnvestment barriers can lead te retallation, by other governments. If the investment of Canadian dollarsfo the' U.S. is curtailed would Canadians ho justifled in blaming the U.S. if is govermment restricts the investment of US dollars in Canada? General Motors is presently investing one point two billion dollars (U.S.) toward, in- creasing truck produc- tion in Oshawa, they are also i the planning stages of locating a one point five billion dollar (U.S.) plant in Canada te build mid-size passenger cars. General Motors already owns the for- mer Dunlop-Dayton tire plant in Whltby which is ideally suited and situated as an assembly plant. I ask Mr. Broadbent and Mr. Rison if they are prepared to risk the loss of over two thousand jobs for future UAW members by risking retaliation to the NDP's foreign invest- ment restrictions? Mr. Broadbent was a firmn opponent of the Canada-IJ.S. Autopact which has given more to the UAW membership than even those who favoured it thought possible. Mr. Broadbent op- posed the Darlington project until the con- -struction trade unions pointed out that, he was jeopardislng their chan- ces of employment then hie changed coats. Mr. Broadbent accep- ts the support of the anti cruise missile protesters but hé neyer speaks out against the memnbers of the UAW who' work on weapons carriers that they build at General Motors for NATO forces- even though these weapons carriers can be used to deploy tactical nuclear weapons. Mr. Broadbent neyer speaks out against the anti cruise protest group when they. share bard earned donations with the Soviet Canadian Friendship Society, The Young Commust League of Canada, and the left wmng of the LJAW. It seems to me that Mr. Broadbent and the NDP are as consistent as the Liberals. The Liberals are con- sistent in their patronage. The NDP are con- sistent in their sitting on a pointed pîcket fence with their'feet dangling on each side while they wait for the minds of change so they'll know which direction to go. Yours sincerely, Tom Doucette, Whitby. *whitby Volce of County Town - v k~Il'//k~-