06-19-2010, 04:32 PM
Quote:At ruck used to haul three zoo animals stolen Friday from the Montreal area has been found — but there is still no sign of the tiger and two camels that were inside an attached livestock trailer.http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Stolen+...pvURo]link
Quebec provincial police officers found the pickup truck sometime overnight in a church parking lot in the village of Ste. Eulalie, Que., about 73 kilometres northeast from where it was stolen, officials said Saturday.
The truck and trailer — holding a fully grown tiger named Jonas, and two camels, Todd and Sean — were taken from behind a motel in St. Liboire, Que., as the animals were being transported from the Maritimes back to their home at the Bowmanville Zoo, just east of Toronto.
Michael Hackenberger, director of the zoo, said extensive police efforts involving dozens of officers and a search helicopter have now moved into the Ste. Eulalie area.
“It’s a bit confusing because you would have thought they would have dumped the trailers (with the animals inside) and hung on to the truck, but apparently not,” he said.
Hackenberger said that one current theory is that the thieves may have been more interested in the large aluminum trailer than the animals because of the current high cost of aluminum, which is more than 80 cents per pound. There have apparently been several thefts of aluminum trailers in the area.
“It’s just like an Amber Alert,” Hackenberger added. “The longer this goes on, the more complex and unlikely the scenario is.”
There is still no concern that the animals were targeted by animal-rights activists.
The Bowmanville Zoo is one of the largest suppliers of trained animals for the feature-film and television industry. On its website, it says it maintains the largest stable of trained movie and television animals in Canada.
Police are also looking into whether the electronic identity tags worn by the animals can be tracked from a distance. They are checking local farms and chop shops in case the thieves have made attempts to dispose of the trailer.
Hackenberger has issued a plea that the thieves provide water and shade to the animals, especially because of recent hot weather conditions.
He said the camels can be given buckets of water, while Jonas can be given water by extending a water-filled turkey baster through the cage — the tiger knows how to drain water from a baster.
“They could be in huge distress,” said Hackenberger. “They could even die. That’s the concern and the thieves are obviously not going to care about his.”
Hackenberger travelled from Bowmanville to southern Quebec on Friday with a veterinarian and a load of medical supplies.
He said he plans to stay in the area until the animals are found. “Ultimately, we are best able to provide health care for these animals, so this is where we should be.”
The Quebec police force has tasked 40 officers and a search helicopter with finding the tiger and two camels.
Police are looking for an aluminum EBY brand trailer, which resembles the kind used to haul livestock, with an Ontario licence plate number of E4398Y.
Hackenberger asks that if anyone spots the trailer parked somewhere they try to open any windows that are closed and contact police.
Jonas the tiger was contained in an internal cage inside the trailer so he could not escape, Hackenberger said. There is no threat posed by Todd and Sean, whom he described as “nice” camels.
“Jonas is highly trained. He’s a delight,” said Hackenberger.
I hope who ever has the animals, don't hurt them. Copper and
Aluminum is in high demand and thieves are out there looking for
all they can get their hands on.
