INSIDE: Abbotsford Police collect guns in amnesty program
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T H U R S D A Y
May 30, 2013
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Gallery 7 wraps season in comedy
E N T E R T A I N M E N T abbotsfordtimes.com
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Former prison guard wants back wages JENNIFER SALTMAN The Province
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– ROCHELLE BAKER/TIMES
Abbotsford’s Reptile Guy Mike Hopcraft shows off an invasive turtle, the red eared slider, that’s putting serious pressure on the endangered native species at Mill Lake. The sliders, tossed into the lake as unwanted pets, are competing with the western painted turtle for food, nesting space and habitat.
Turtles tussle in Mill Lake
ROCHELLE BAKER RBaker@abbotsfordtimes.com
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battle for survival is being waged in Abbotsford’s Mill Lake and a local reptile expert hopes to sway the odds in favour of the local champion. Abbotsford’s Reptile Guy, Mike Hopcraft, told city council Monday that the local lake’s small population of endangered western painted turtles is under threat from an invasive species. The red eared slider – which originates in the southern States and is typically sold by pet stores – is thriving in the lake and may completely displace its native cousin. Hopcraft, who runs a reptile rescue and education centre, asked council to consider implementing a sales ban on any sliders under four inches long. That way potential pet owners get a better understanding of the future size of their pur-
chase, he said. The turtles, known for the splash of red colour on their heads, are bought as “cute” babies when they are the size of a loonie. But new owners soon find themselves in possession of an animal that can grow to more than a foot in length and live for decades, Hopcraft said. “People are led to believe they can keep the turtles in a small tank and they’ll stay little but that’s not true,” said Hopcraft, noting an adult slider should be housed in a 200-gallon aquarium roughly six feet long. Most people aren’t aware of the costs, equipment and time needed to properly care for the reptile, he said. As a result, rescue operations like Hopcraft’s are swamped with surrendered turtles, or people simply turn them loose into local waterways, as is the case at Mill Lake. Of the 50 turtles currently sheltered at Hopcraft’s operation, 41 are red eared sliders.
Once in Mill Lake, a slider becomes a direct competitor with the indigenous painted turtle for food and nesting sites, said Hopcraft. “An adult slider will also eat other endangered frogs, salamanders and any eggs,” he said. “Basically, they’ll eat literally anything.” Aimee Mitchell, project manager with the Coastal Painted Turtle Project, said the conservation group has worked with the city to protect the endangered reptiles. A nesting beach was established at the lake in 2011 for the painted turtles, which lay their eggs in late May or June. However, nothing prevents the more populous sliders from encrouching on their habitat, said Mitchell. What’s more the sliders can also transmit disease and respiratory problems to the see TURTLES, page A4
former Matsqui Institution corrections officer who was convicted of date raping a 21-year-old woman is no longer trying to get his job back. Instead, Balkar Singh Basra, who appeared at a Public Service Labour Relations Board hearing in Abbotsford Tuesday to continue the grievance of his 2009 termination by the Correctional Service of Canada, is seeking other remedies. According to union lawyer James Baugh, one such remedy is compensation for lost wages. In 2004, Basra sexually assaulted a B.C. Institute of Technology student he met through an Internet chat room. Basra was suspended in 2006 after his employer was informed of the charges. Basra grieved his suspension to the Public Service Labour Relations Board and the adjudicator ordered that Basra be reinstated with more than a year of back pay and benefits, plus interest. In September 2007 Basra started work in the admissions and discharge area, where he had minimal contact with offenders. In June 2008, Basra was suspended once more after the Federal Court quashed the board’s decision. Basra was convicted of sexual assault a month later and sentenced to two years less a day in jail. He was terminated in June 2009. Glen Brown, who was Matsqui’s warden at the time of Basra’s suspension and termination, said he had a number of concerns about Basra’s continued employment. The most pressing concern was safety because of Basra’s reputation as a suspected sex offender. “There is this very steeped and historically strong antipathy toward sex offenders [among inmates],” Brown said at the hearing. “That creates some real risk in the corrections environment.” Trust was also an issue. Brown said he was surprised to find out that Basra had lied to police about knowing the victim or having sex with her. see GUARD, page A21
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