by Susan Swan
Over the past couple of summers the Village of Clinton has received several complaints about marmots digging into graves in the Old Cemetery just off Hwy 97.
Karl Hansen, Public Works Foreman reported to Clinton’s Council at its Aug. 10 meeting. He talked to other municipalities having the same problem. He also spoke with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation Officers, SPCA and RCMP, and the general consensus was to shoot them.
Trapping (live and dead) and poisoning have been used in other areas with little success, he found out, and could also harm domestic animals in the vicinity. It could also drive these rodents to neighbouring properties.
Council heard that the municipality of Oliver is successfully employing an ongoing firearms program to dispense the marmots and ensure the population remains minimal.
The Village of Clinton Park Bylaw (dated 1969) prohibits the discharge of firearms within the Village boundaries, but Council passed a recommendation to allow the Public Works Foreman to implement a firearms program to control the marmot population in the ‘Old Cemetery’.
