[size=-1] A flying squirrel named Sabrina is at the center of a fight between Canada, which wants to deport the rodent, and its owner who says the creature is harmless and has bonded to him.[/size]
[size=-1][/size] [size=-1] Ottawa wants to send the animal back to the United States, citing a 2003 ban on importing rodents into the country after a monkeypox outbreak south of the border last year. [/size]
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[size=-1] Naturalist Steve Patterson, who brought the squirrel across the border last June after filling out the necessary papers, said the government is simply being stubborn. [/size]
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[size=-1] "The good the squirrel can do far outweighs the bad," he said on Wednesday. "If we could apply for refugee status, I would certainly put an application in for her, but I don't think the laws cover small, baby squirrels." [/size]
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[size=-1] It is illegal to capture flying squirrels in Ontario, prompting Patterson to travel to Indiana to obtain the animal for educational purposes, he said. [/size]
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[size=-1] Patterson, whose squirrel got a clean bill of health from a veterinarian, won the opening round of the court battle after a judge denied Ottawa's request to make him turn Sabrina over. [/size]
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[size=-1] But an appeal is pending and Patterson has lined up high-profile lawyer Clayton Ruby to defend the animal.
Full Story
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[size=-1][/size] [size=-1] Ottawa wants to send the animal back to the United States, citing a 2003 ban on importing rodents into the country after a monkeypox outbreak south of the border last year. [/size]
[size=-1] [/size]
[size=-1] Naturalist Steve Patterson, who brought the squirrel across the border last June after filling out the necessary papers, said the government is simply being stubborn. [/size]
[size=-1] [/size]
[size=-1] "The good the squirrel can do far outweighs the bad," he said on Wednesday. "If we could apply for refugee status, I would certainly put an application in for her, but I don't think the laws cover small, baby squirrels." [/size]
[size=-1] [/size]
[size=-1] It is illegal to capture flying squirrels in Ontario, prompting Patterson to travel to Indiana to obtain the animal for educational purposes, he said. [/size]
[size=-1] [/size]
[size=-1] Patterson, whose squirrel got a clean bill of health from a veterinarian, won the opening round of the court battle after a judge denied Ottawa's request to make him turn Sabrina over. [/size]
[size=-1] [/size]
[size=-1] But an appeal is pending and Patterson has lined up high-profile lawyer Clayton Ruby to defend the animal.
Full Story
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