A hawk and a spaniel in buff: hunting cause of the problems in the prison of Roberval

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Isabelle Tremblay

Thursday, 5 October 2017 14:27

UPDATE
Thursday, 5 October 2017 14:36

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ROBERVAL – The people who will go near the prison of Roberval, in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, will see over the next few days a hawk fly over the property. It is not there by chance. It scares the migratory birds that trigger continually emergency measures in the prison.

The hunting of migratory birds is in full swing. And even around the prison, which is surrounded by agricultural land.

Each time a shot is fired or that the fighter is approaching, as the surveillance cameras are activated. It is pandemonium inside the walls.

“You need to understand that when we draw shots near a detention centre, it triggers a protection system in-house,” said the mayor of Roberval, Guy Larouche.

“The hunters arrive at the edge of the path. They are called the hunters rampeurs. They seek to penetrate inside the wood and trenches for the approach of the geese and shoot. It is them who go near the prison and who trigger the alarm system,” said the owner of the land, Robin Girard.

In order to frighten the migratory birds, the detention centre has opted for an ancient art, falconry. A bird of prey is trained to do the job. It is accompanied by a brittany spaniel.

“When they see a bird of prey in flight, or a coyote darting towards them, it is a warning signal. They are going to prefer to flee rather than attack,” underlined Marc-André Fortin, president of the Groupe Prévost-Fortin, specialising in the management of wildlife.

“This is really spectacular, because when the trainers work, one sees from the bird of prey,” observed the mayor of Roberval.

The use of natural predators, including airports, has been proven. But this is the first time that the technique applies to a detention center.

“The bird of prey is having fun and flying around us. When one points out with food or a decoy, he returns to us without attacking the geese. But they don’t know it. It is the same thing for the dog. For him, his reward is to get back to us to have his hug,” said Mr. Fortin.

This particular team will be hard at work in these fields for the next three weeks.