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| Last updated at 9:16 AM on 05/02/09 |
Don't shoot crows with paintball guns 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Editor:
It came to my attention recently that some people are shooting crows on P.E.I. with paintball guns. While this may seem like a form of harmless entertainment and only mild harassment of wildlife, it is anything but harmless.
When a small bird the size of a crow is struck by a paintball, it may be killed outright. If it is not killed instantly, it may be maimed by fractures to the wings or legs or severe internal injuries. These incapacitated birds will slowly die of starvation, dehydration and hypothermia. Even if the crow is not killed outright or maimed, it will be coated with paint. Paint causes the plumage to be matted together, eliminating its insulating properties, and causing the bird to die slowly from exposure (hypothermia).
Firearms are able to humanely destroy a bird. Paintballs, however, are not a humane way to destroy a bird, and cause unnecessary pain and suffering. Under the Criminal Code of Canada section 445.1, any person causing or assisting in causing the unnecessary pain and suffering of an animal or bird is liable to a maximum of five years imprisonment or a maximum of a $10,000 fine.
While rock doves (pigeons), house sparrows, and crows are not considered protected birds on P.E.I. (unlike migratory birds, birds of prey, and game birds), causing unnecessary pain and suffering is against the law regardless of the species of bird involved.
In my experience as a veterinarian, I have cared for various species of wild birds that have sustained injuries from a variety of causes, and clearly paintballs will cause a crow to die painfully and slowly over hours to days. There can be no justification in amusing oneself by shooting birds with paintballs - not only is it inhumane and illegal, it serves no useful purpose.
Peter Foley, DVM,
Cornwall
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05/02/09
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