Alberta Fish and Wildlife is investigating after a man was recorded shooting what appears to be fireworks at a swan on a lake in Grande Prairie.
Facebook user Steve Kennedy shared photos and videos last week of a man shooting fireworks at Crystal Lake, where several swans and geese were floating.
Kennedy told CTV Edmonton it appeared the man was chasing the swan away from some baby geese.
The bird was startled by the fireworks, but did not appear to be hurt.
Kennedy submitted the video to fish and wildlife investigators, who identified the bird as a trumpeter swan, a non-game wildlife species protected by Alberta’s Wildlife Act.
That means they can’t be harassed or disturbed.
“Harassing migratory birds is illegal under both provincial (the Wildlife Act) and federal legislation (the Migratory Game Birds Act), and can result in a fine, jail time, or both, for adults,” the province said in a statement.
Grande Prairie is sometimes call the “Swan City.” It adopted the trumpeter swan as an official symbol, because the city is close to the bird’s migration route and summer nesting grounds.
(CTV Edmonton, The Canadian Press)
The Canadian Press
