An incident report has been released on the September 9 moose chase that took place near Investors Group Field.
RELATED: Moose invades Banjo Bowl, messes up traffic
680 CJOB requested access to the report through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
The report issued by the department of sustainable development said a total of 17 officers, most of whom were members of the Winnipeg Police Service, were involved in getting the animal under control.
According to the report, conservation officers were called after a moose was spotted running around the area of the University of Manitoba. The moose had also been seen the day before in the Wildwood Park area.
RELATED: Conservation officers searching for Moose in Winnipeg neighborhood
Two conservation officers arrived at the green space near Pembina Highway and Chancellor Matheson Drive around 10:45 a.m. There was a large number of people in the area because of the Banjo Bowl game – the tailgating area was scheduled to open at 11 a.m.
“Due to the amount of people in the area and the size of the green space it was hard trying to keep people out of the area. Because of this, the moose got spooked and began to run around the green space, it made several attempts to run toward Pembina Highway and Chancellor Matheson, but was turned back by officers,” the report stated.
This prompted conservation officers to ask city police for crowd control. The animal disappeared and was seen in a residential area south of the university, but then moved back to the green space.
Winnipeg police arrived along with additional conservation officers. All were collectively instructed to encircle the green space in an effort to contain the animal and keep it from running into traffic. All agreed the animal was not to be put down unless it was considered a threat to public safety.
The report said once within range, a conservation officer shot the moose in the back end with a tranquilizer dart. A second shot was fired 10 minutes later – it hit the moose in the shoulder. The animal went down but was still stirring, so a third dose was given. At that time, the animal, which was described as a young bull, appeared to be in good condition. It was given a fourth shot after being loaded into a livestock trailer so that it did not wake up during transport.
In total, the animal was given 22 cc’s of tranqulizer over the course of about an hour.
“Overall, it began as a bad situation with it happening at investors Group Field during Banjo Bowl, but a positive outcome was reached with the moose being safely immobilized and removed from the area,” the report said.
In the end, the animal died.
READ MORE: Moose caught in Winnipeg dies before release into wild
The report made no claim of right or wrong, made no suggestion of alternative action, and included nothing regarding cost to the city or the province for police and conservation officer wages.
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