io9Oops!
If history has taught us anything, it’s that if there’s a rare, special animal in the wild, some dumbass will eagerly shoot it. Unfortunately, history just repeated itself near Belle Cote, Nova Scotia, where three hunting buddies killed a special white moose that the locals had kept alive for years. You know how you joke that Britney Spears is your spirit animal? (Maybe that’s just me.) Well, this moose ACTUALLY WAS the sacred spirit animal for the Mi’kmaq people. Writes io9:
This moose was known to the local Mi’kmaq people for years, but they refrained from killing it because they consider all white animals to be sacred…Even hunters, aside from these clowns, don’t shoot albino animals for fear that it’ll bring bad luck — and despite the fact that it’s not illegal. These guys breached a kind of unwritten code of conduct that has also upset many in the hunting community.
Adding insult to injury, the three stooges posted their shots online, further pissing off the locals. As Mi’kmaq hunter Danny Paul told the CBC:
We are not to harm [these animals] in any way, shape, or form because they could be one of our ancestors coming to remind us of something significant that’s going to happen within our communities. It was so disrespectful having seen it put on the social media, and it’s been an outcry and our people are outraged.
The hunters issued an apology and said they didn’t realize the significance of the moose. Although some are blaming the Department of Natural Resources for not protecting the albino moose, I think the blame lies with whoever said, “Wow! Something beautiful and unusual! Forget pictures — LET’S KILL IT!”
