Police search for driver after 20 gulls killed in Moncton Coliseum parking lot

Codiac RCMP are looking for the driver of a GMC Sierra truck that plowed through flocks of gulls outside the Moncton Coliseum, killing as many as 20 birds and injuring others.

Codiac RCMP say they have identified the vehicle, a GMC Sierra, but not the driver

Rachel Cave · CBC News · Posted: Nov 15, 2019 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 15, 2019

RCMP say the driver of a GMC Sierra truck drove through flocks of gulls in the parking lot of the Moncton Coliseum on Oct. 27. This photo of gulls at the Moncton Coliseum was taken in April 2019. (Submitted by Wade Perry)

Codiac RCMP are looking for the driver of a brown GMC Sierra truck that plowed through flocks of gulls, killing as many as 20 birds and injuring 11 others, in the parking lot of the Moncton Coliseum.

RCMP Sgt. Tyson Nelson said the police have video evidence of the incident, which happened Oct. 27. The video was not released to CBC News because the matter was under investigation.

It's not clear why police haven't found the driver when they have identified the vehicle.

RCMP said a civilian who witnessed the event got the licence plate, so that's how police could track down the truck.

Nelson confirmed the truck was not stolen and is still with the owner.

Some people … think it's funny to just plow a vehicle through roosting gulls in parking lots and that's making me very sad.- Alain Clavette

Most birds, including various species of gulls, are protected by Canada's Migratory Birds Convention Act.

Killing them or destroying their nests is illegal.

"It makes me sick," said Alain Clavette, a birder and naturalist.

"Some people … think it's funny to just plow a vehicle through roosting gulls in parking lots and that's making me very sad."

Clavette said some of the birds would have been injured by the truck and "suffered long and agonizing deaths."

Police said they received the complaint at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 27.

The week-long wine expo had started the night before. But Nicole Myers, the Coliseum manager, said she did not report the incident and didn't know much about it.

Nicole Myers, the manager of the Moncton Coliseum, said she did not report the birds being hit and didn't know much about the incident. (CBC)

Clavette said gulls like to roost or rest in large open areas that look like large bodies of water.

"Basically, any area that's flat, totally open, with no obstacles or bushes for predators to hide," he said.

He speculated that if the incident happened early in the day and it was cold, the birds might have been too lethargic to fly away fast enough to avoid being struck by the truck.

Clavette said it's also possible the birds didn't recognize the threat.

"Let's face it, they're used to seeing cars but not cars coming at them to kill them," he said.