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WEEKEND, April 25-27, 2014 NEWS

SUPER

Each spring as dogs enter mat-ing season, some people in northern Saskatchewan take on a most undesirable job.

Duane Favel, mayor of the remote village of Ile-a-la-Crosse, says during this time of year untagged mutts that litter the streets are in heat and aggressive.

“They start bunching up outside the schools,” said Favel. “They become extreme-ly dangerous.”

It’s been like this since Favel can remember. One ex-

planation, he said, is northern society has changed and dogs are no longer necessary for transportation.

Without a permanent vet-erinarian to neuter animals or a bylaw enforcer to regulate pet owners, Favel said, Ile-a-la-Crosse has few options.

“Sometimes we have to resort to culling, which is unfortunate because we cer-tainly don’t want to do that,” said Favel.

A poster hung up at the village office around three months ago says administra-tor Diane McCallum is seek-ing pest-control personnel who have firearm acquisition certificates.

“It took a while before we got anyone,” said McCallum.

Even though no one wants to shoot dogs, tragedies are fresh in the minds of those who live in isolated places.

This season, two young girls were attacked and killed in rural Manitoba on separate

occasions. In 2009, a six-year-old boy was mauled in Ile-a-la-Crosse.

Favel said he is consulting with residents on an action plan and there is a need for a holding facility for dogs to stay until claimed or brought to a shelter, which could be difficult to finance.

Louise Bowden-Leonard, a supporter of animal rights based in Nova Scotia, says the federal and provincial gov-ernments should step in. She shared the pest control ad from Il-a-la-Crosse on Twitter to raise awareness.

“It’s really tragic that these things need to constantly happen in order for anyone to realize there’s a problem,” said Bowden-Leonard.

A spokesperson with the Ministry of Government Rela-tions in Saskatchewan, who requested not to be named, said that animal control is not the province of Saskatch-ewan’s responsibility.

Untagged mutts. Dogs

become aggressive

during mating season

and may attack

children, mayor of

remote village says

Saskatchewan considering dog cull in north

Street artist condemns Stealing Banksy auctionElusive street artist Banksy says he has nothing to do with an auction in London of several of his works taken from walls and valued at up to 1 million pounds ($1.68 million US).

A statement on Banksy’s website Thursday said the “Stealing Banksy?” sale “has been organized without the involvement or consent of the artist.”

Banksy, who has never disclosed his full identity, has become one of the world’s best-known artists. Banksy’s satirical stencils swap hands for high six-figure sums; in February, his “Kissing Cop-pers” sold at a Miami auction for $575,000 US.

Seven works, including a giant rat, an image of two children playing with a “No Ball Games” sign and a girl with a red balloon, are being sold by Sincura Group, which says it prides itself on “ob-taining the unobtainable.”

Sincura was criticized last

year for handling the sale of a Banksy mural whose removal from the wall of a north Lon-don store dismayed many locals. The company insists it removes Banksy murals only when “approached by building owners and asked to remove artwork illegally painted on their sites.”

Banksy’s own denuncia-tion of the sale ended on an ironic note.

“This show has got noth-ing to do with me and I think it’s disgusting people are al-lowed to go around displaying art on walls without getting permission,” he wrote.THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JACOB

MORGANMetro in Saskatoon

A section of restored wall graffiti artwork by street artist Banksy is prepared for public display Thursday in London. JOHN STILLWELL-PA/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS