Ottawa moose death a call to action: mayor

Mayor Larry O'Brien wants a plan for handling wildlife incursions in the city, after police shot and killed another wayward moose within Ottawa's city limits.

Police put down a moose on Saturday in an area south of Highway 417 near St. Laurent Blvd after they were unable to relocate the animal back into the wild.

Insp. Mark Ford said that by the time he arrived on the scene, the moose was already cornered in a vacant lot backing on toSt. Laurent Boulevard.

"The moose was already distressed, it was agitated, it attempted to jump the fence and it cut itself," said Ford.

"We're dealing with a very distressed moose, and it wouldn't take much for the moose to run over the police cruisers that were blocking the entrance."

Police said they contacted the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Capital Commission, but both agencies said the animal was out of their jurisdiction.

No help for police available

Ottawa had a wildlife management contract with the NCC, but it expired in 2008.

The city also tried and failed to hire private contractors who deal with wild animals, but no onewas available.

Police put the moose down for fear that it would run into traffic and cause an accident.

It is the second moose Ottawa police have put down this month. On June 1, anofficer shot one of two moose that had run loose in a residential part of Orleans in the city's east end.

O'Brien said he called police Chief Vern White when he heard about the second moose death.

"We better have things in order so that we don't put our police in that terrible situation of having to make a decision that I'm sure that one, they're not trained for, and two, that I'm sure they'd prefer not to do," said O'Brien.

Police and city staff have scheduled a meeting with the Ministry of Natural Resources for later this week to discuss how to handle wildlife incursions.