Fake letter about gray wolves circulating in Kings County
Posted Oct 7, 2020 08:24:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
UPDATE: Army apologizes after Nova Scotia residents receive fake letter warning of wolves
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Gray wolves are not on the loose in Kings County, but a fake letter claiming gray wolves could endanger livestock is.
The fabricated letter, with a Nova Scotia Lands and Forestry logo, is dated September 19, 2020.
It claims a pack of eight gray wolves were reintroduced to South Alton in August, but migrated in the wrong direction, and could be a danger to livestock.
“Unfortunately the ‘pack’ has migrated to the Annapolis Valley floor in search of easy pray [sic] and livestock,” the letter reads.
On Wednesday, the Department of Lands and Forestry tweeted out a picture of the letter, with the word “fake” stamped on top of it.
Bob Petrie is the Director of Wildlife with Nova Scotia Lands and Forestry, he says the letter appears to be distributed as a hard copy, left in places like mailboxes and under doors.
“It was brought to our attention from somebody smart enough to contact us and alert us that it was likely fake,” he says.
Petrie doesn’t currently know who did this or why, but felt the need to let the public know that this misinformation is out there, and says the issue has been reported to others in government.
“We really don’t know much about it. It’s a very strange occurrence,” Petrie says.
Officials are asking anyone who receives a letter to contact them at wildlife@novascotia.ca.
Petrie says, there are no wolves in Nova Scotia, with the closest thing being eastern coyotes.
“They were known to have existed in small numbers in Nova Scotia but haven’t been around since the mid-1800s, we estimate.”
