CyberKitten
June 1st, 2007, 07:45 PM
Personally, I think this deer (can't say guy since she is a doe <g>) just got fed up with all the cars and loss of habitat and decided to confront the politicians head on! It goes give a new term to "political animal" though! :laughing:
Political animal crashes legislature
Wildlife Fur flies as doe runs amok in the halls of government
Telegraph-Journal
Published Friday June 1st, 2007
Appeared on page A3
Security was breached Thursday in the New Brunswick legislative press gallery in Fredericton when an intruder bypassed the commissionaires who guard the building.
A yearling doe entered the building next to the legislature through an open door a few minutes before 8 a.m.
It was caught on video from security cameras as it went through the lobby and into an elevator momentarily, then bounded into reporters' offices.
Two commissionaires followed it into the offices where the deer proceeded to jump on a desk, knocking off several items and smashing a keyboard. It then ran through the rest of the offices before shattering a window to escape.
Department of Natural Resources staff tried to find the deer, but to no avail. No blood was found at the scene and it is believed the doe suffered no major injuries.
Commissionaire Robert Mullins, says the deer was in the building no more than a minute before making its escape.
Mullins says deer have been spotted on the lawn, but never before have they entered the building. He's had to chase down bats before, but the deer was by far the most rambunctious intruder to date.
"From now on, we have orders to keep the doors closed," Mullins says, to prevent more wildlife intrusions.
Sergeant-at-Arms Daniel Bussieres, who is responsible for security at the building, gave a written report on the intrusion to Speaker Eugene McGinley.
"The intruder is described as five feet in height and of equal length, slender legs - all four of them - brown eyes, wearing a beige-coloured hairy-type coat," he said.
"The intruder blatantly ignored the direction of the security guard, bypassed the security check point and proceeded across the vestibule into the elevator," Bussieres said. "The intruder was unable to operate the password-protected elevator."
Riverview Tory MLA Bruce Fitch suggested the deer came from a Liberal riding unhappy with government policy.
"Some think it came from Silverwood looking for their (political) payoff," he said. "Some people think it came from Fredericton North looking for justice.
"Some people think it came from Moncton North looking for humility."
Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault said with a growing deer population, he asked his staff to try to find ways to minimize deer activity and sightings in residential areas.
However, like many of the MLAs and the gallery's reporters, Arseneault found Thursday's incident amusing.
"I think in the last two months there were some Tories who were known to jump the fence.
"So I don't know, maybe it was another Conservative who wanted to jump the fence," Arseneault said referring to longtime Tory MLAs Wally Stiles and Joan MacAlpine-Stiles who defected to the Liberal caucus April 17.
Brent Roy, spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, says it's not uncommon for deer to be spotted around the city at this time of year, though not so common for them to enter offices or homes. Department staff have only received a handful of calls about deer, but expect more soon.
"They're usually busier with this sort of thing in June," Roy says.
Earlier this week, a deer smashed through a window into a home in the south end of Saint John.
- with files from Canadaeast News Service
Picture Caption:
A deer walks into the New Brunswick legislature in Fredericton Thursday in this image taken from a security camera. The deer jumped onto a desk, smashing a keyboard and leaving clumps of fur. The animal then raced through the offices and jumped through a window.
Political animal crashes legislature
Wildlife Fur flies as doe runs amok in the halls of government
Telegraph-Journal
Published Friday June 1st, 2007
Appeared on page A3
Security was breached Thursday in the New Brunswick legislative press gallery in Fredericton when an intruder bypassed the commissionaires who guard the building.
A yearling doe entered the building next to the legislature through an open door a few minutes before 8 a.m.
It was caught on video from security cameras as it went through the lobby and into an elevator momentarily, then bounded into reporters' offices.
Two commissionaires followed it into the offices where the deer proceeded to jump on a desk, knocking off several items and smashing a keyboard. It then ran through the rest of the offices before shattering a window to escape.
Department of Natural Resources staff tried to find the deer, but to no avail. No blood was found at the scene and it is believed the doe suffered no major injuries.
Commissionaire Robert Mullins, says the deer was in the building no more than a minute before making its escape.
Mullins says deer have been spotted on the lawn, but never before have they entered the building. He's had to chase down bats before, but the deer was by far the most rambunctious intruder to date.
"From now on, we have orders to keep the doors closed," Mullins says, to prevent more wildlife intrusions.
Sergeant-at-Arms Daniel Bussieres, who is responsible for security at the building, gave a written report on the intrusion to Speaker Eugene McGinley.
"The intruder is described as five feet in height and of equal length, slender legs - all four of them - brown eyes, wearing a beige-coloured hairy-type coat," he said.
"The intruder blatantly ignored the direction of the security guard, bypassed the security check point and proceeded across the vestibule into the elevator," Bussieres said. "The intruder was unable to operate the password-protected elevator."
Riverview Tory MLA Bruce Fitch suggested the deer came from a Liberal riding unhappy with government policy.
"Some think it came from Silverwood looking for their (political) payoff," he said. "Some people think it came from Fredericton North looking for justice.
"Some people think it came from Moncton North looking for humility."
Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault said with a growing deer population, he asked his staff to try to find ways to minimize deer activity and sightings in residential areas.
However, like many of the MLAs and the gallery's reporters, Arseneault found Thursday's incident amusing.
"I think in the last two months there were some Tories who were known to jump the fence.
"So I don't know, maybe it was another Conservative who wanted to jump the fence," Arseneault said referring to longtime Tory MLAs Wally Stiles and Joan MacAlpine-Stiles who defected to the Liberal caucus April 17.
Brent Roy, spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources, says it's not uncommon for deer to be spotted around the city at this time of year, though not so common for them to enter offices or homes. Department staff have only received a handful of calls about deer, but expect more soon.
"They're usually busier with this sort of thing in June," Roy says.
Earlier this week, a deer smashed through a window into a home in the south end of Saint John.
- with files from Canadaeast News Service
Picture Caption:
A deer walks into the New Brunswick legislature in Fredericton Thursday in this image taken from a security camera. The deer jumped onto a desk, smashing a keyboard and leaving clumps of fur. The animal then raced through the offices and jumped through a window.