Many geese and ducks are safe and clean after a local resident managed to spot a few of them covered in oil and grease.
The mess happened at Leiterman Pond near Louis St. Laurent Avenue. The birds were unable to fly with the oil stuck to their feathers.
The Oakville & Milton Humane Society were called onto the scene to help the animals on the evening of Wednesday, July 22nd.
The Manager of the Animal Protective Services Department at the OMHS, Caitlin Jones, explains the initial response.
At the time of the interview, Jones described more than fifteen birds having been saved.
Jones says the mission continued after the first day.
The rescued birds have all received their baths and are now clean.
They’re washed in a degreasing agent that tends to be an animal-friendly dish soap.
Jones says this isn’t new in-terms of isolated incidents; however, this case may have one of the higher numbers of animals being impacted. That said, this has been considered a small-scale situation.
Danielle Darcy was the resident that first noticed that a duck had oil on its feathers. She and her neighbour, Ellen Luccock, worked to get the distressed animals help.
Darcy says that her and a Town of Milton representative found a large amount of oil dumped into the pond.
She adds that Leiterman Pond isn’t the only location that is experiencing this issue. There are four ponds in total that appear to have barrels of oil and grease that were recently dumped into them.
Through a conversation with the Town of Milton representative, Darcy discovered that the land was owned by Mattamy Homes. Her and others have been reaching out to get Mattamy to come in and clean up the spill. The first incident was reported on Wednesday evening. As of Saturday, there has still been little to no action taken.
Darcy says that, as a Mattamy homeowner, she expects more out of the company. That said, she doesn’t care who owns the pond, calling it a community problem. She commends Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge and the OMHS for being active and helping the best that they can, but wants to see more being done.
The other three ponds that have been affected are also along Louis St. Laurent Avenue in Milton; none of them are connected. That, coupled with the extreme amount of oil and grease, is what makes Darcy believe this was a deliberate act.
The OMHS is still responding to any reports of wildlife that appear to be in distress. Jones says you can call the Humane Society at 905-845-1551 if you ever come across a distressed animal.
The Town of Milton provided myFM News a statement on the matter:
“The Town understands this was an isolated incident and has been resolved. The Town reminds residents to dispose of fats and cooking oils in proper manner. Residents can find information on how to properly dispose on Halton Region’s website.”
myFM News reached out to Mattamy Homes for comment as well.
An update was provided by both the Town of Milton and Mattamy Homes. You can read their updated statements here.
