Algonquin’s horticulture program is scrambling to find a solution to an ongoing rodent problem after the college’s Animal Care Committee rejected students’ and professors’ request to house a cat in M-building following the death of their long-standing feline exterminator, Ginger.
Ginger lived in the M-building for over 10 years and was a master at patrolling the halls for mice, squirrels and chipmunks. Faculty were unable to confirm the exact time she was brought in, but it is estimated to have been around 11 years ago, just before the college’s policy on the use of animals in teaching, research and other activities that created the Animal Care Committee was approved in February 2005.
According to Tommy Wingreen, teacher and co-coordinator for the horticulture program, the cat was great at her job, but started to slow down last year due to her old age. He told the Times in an interview on April 27 that another cat was brought in to pick up the slack, but he managed to get out of the building and is suspected to have been killed by a passing car.
Ginger was then rehomed last year after classes had ended for the winter semester.
“She was getting old and the vets who were taking care of her thought it was better that she was not in a busy environment and she got re-homed in a private home and passed away a little bit later,” said Wingreen.
By the fall of 2015, the new group of horticulture students, who had never met Ginger, heard about her death and were interested in the idea of having another cat around.
“The new students picked up that we had a cat so the first thing they did was petition to get a new one,” said Wingreen.
According to horticulture student Matty Hetherington, the petition was signed by everybody within the program back in the fall.
However, they just recently had their first meeting with the Animal Care Committee which was resistant to the idea of a cat living in M-building due to safety concerns.
“Because of our proximity to Woodroffe and buses out here on College Avenue, they thought traffic and a cat was not a safe environment and they wouldn’t really approve us having our cat, so that is the discussion we are having right now,” said Wingreen.
According to Hetherington, the talk has now quieted down in recent weeks.
“I know that the program coordinators were going to talk to the board about the cat a couple weeks ago but since then I have not heard anything about getting another cat for the building,” he said.
The Times received confirmation from the chair of the ACC, Brian Duffy, that the committee had formally rejected the horticulture program’s request.
“The Animal Care Committee (ACC) reviewed the request for a feline in the horticulture building. After review and onsite inspection, the ACC sees no need for a feline on site,” said Duffy in an email sent to the Times on May 2.
However, Wingreen disagrees with the ruling and feels the cat is the ideal solution to the rodent problem.
“We have seen more mice coming in the building; there are rabbits – we actually have squirrels living in the building too with chipmunks taking over the building and we’d rather have a cat,” he said.
Wingreen said that they are actively trying other methods to control the problem, but nothing has been as effective as having a cat around.
“It’s a little hard to seal off the building because what you would do first is try not to get anything in the building,” he said. “That we are working at.”
Wingreen also said that they have tried using poison to eradicate rodents, but it has not been practical.
“We won’t have that option out on the grounds,” he said. “It’s continuous work.”
Using poison also runs the risk of rodents that ingest the poison getting back outside and becoming a deadly snack for other neighbourhood cats. Humanely relocating the pests is also not ideal but the faculty is still weighing their options.
“If we are trying to relocate wild animals in the building, like squirrels, then we can trap them, but before you take them out of the building they go crazy,” said Wingreen. “You can’t relocate them very far so they’ll likely be back or other wildlife will move in so having something on patrol 24/7 is kind of ideal so we’ll have to find a compromise or we would have to look at all options and see which way it’s going.”
