BIG TROUT LAKE — Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug’s loose dog population is being culled for reasons of public safety, Chief Donny Morris says.
“We have this school that’s near a populated area and for some reason, whether these dogs are wild or not contained, we felt it was too risky to have them wandering around in packs when kids walk to school,” Morris told Newswatch Tuesday in a phone interview.
Word of dogs being shot on the fly-in reserve made the rounds on social media last week after KI’s chief and council notified residents that “there will be a dog shoot” and advised residents to “tie up your dog/s if you want to keep them.”
Comments at a dog-rescue organization’s Facebook page termed the culling plan “barbaric” and “heartbreaking.”
Morris said he and KI council want to avoid the sort of incidents that have occurred in some other remote communities, where feral dogs have attacked children and adults.
There have been some close calls recently in his community, he said, “where a couple of dogs would run up to an individual, kind of snarling.
“We just want to try and get rid of some of these dogs that are a problem for our community.”
KI council received complaints and concerns about loose canines from the community, Morris said.
“We had a council meeting and we decided fully supporting the idea that we should … terminate some of these wild dogs.”
Council authorized hiring someone to shoot dogs, he said, but “if you come across them walking on the lake or crossing the lake you have that opportunity (to shoot) if you want to do your part.”
Concerned outsiders are “more than welcome to come in” and help KI deal with its dog situation, he said, “but you’ve got to understand the distance from Thunder Bay to Big Trout Lake is over 700 kilometres.”
