An Arctic wolf that escaped its enclosure and was roaming free around Port Colborne, Ont. has been shot and killed, according to Niagara Regional Police.
The wolf, a female named Boo, had been rescued from Northern Ontario and brought to Port Colborne where she was residing in an enclosure near Main Street West and Cement Road in a private citizen’s backyard.
At approximately 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Boo dug her way out of the enclosure and escaped. Six police officers and one officer from the Niagara Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) arrived on scene around 11 a.m. after members of the public reported sightings of the wolf. The officers tracked Boo back to the area where she escaped and then lost her.
On Wednesday night around 7 p.m., police received a call from a farmer on the west side of Port Colborne saying that the wolf was on their property, getting close to their livestock. Six officers arrived at the farm and attempted to capture Boo, but were unsuccessful. Police did contact the Niagara SPCA for assistance but they had yet to arrive on the scene.
“Given the close proximity of the wolf to the farm animals and out of concern for the safety of those animals an officer discharged a firearm and fatally shot the wolf,” Niagara police say.
Boo’s remains are currently being held by the Niagara SPCA.
Niagara police say that the individual who’d been in possession of Boo has been unclear about why Boo was rescued and how she was transported to Port Colborne.
The city’s bylaw department in conjunction with the Niagara SPCA, police, and Ministry of Natural Resources has launched an investigation into the housing of Boo.
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