The City of Prince Rupert is investigating the death of 19 bald eagles at its local landfill.
City staff found the eagles on Jan. 4 “covered in a substance that wasn’t allowing them to escape” from a pond containing liquid waste that someone had disposed of at the dump, said Richard Pucci, the city’s director of operations.
“Their feathers were coated,” he said Friday, adding the eagles died as a result.
“We’re deeply impacted by this event,” he said.
The discovery of the dead eagles was first reported by the Northern View newspaper and the Local Journalism Initiative.
The site was contained and the material has been removed, Pucci said, adding they don’t think any other animals were affected. The city is working with a forensic chemist to try and identify the material.
Footage from the landfill in Prince Rupert, B.C., shows dozens of bald eagles, along with gulls, scavenging for food.
The city said it is working with federal and provincial environmental agencies to identify the substance and come up with a “long-term action plan” and will be embarking on a communications campaign to try and warn people about the improper dumping of dangerous materials.
CBC News reached out to B.C.’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy and the federal Ministry of Environment and Climate Change for more information, but they weren’t immediately available to comment.
Arnie Nagy, who runs the Prince Rupert Wildlife Rehab Shelter, called the news “shocking.”
Nagy said he hopes a thorough investigation takes place, with steps taken to find and potentially charge the person or people responsible for the substance.
“This type of an investigation, it can’t just be sugar-coated,” he said.
