Latest news with #Scigliano
Cision Canada
14-05-2025
- Cision Canada
Wildlife Slaughter and Devastating Vandalism Prompts American Lodge Owner to Call for Immediate Action from Government and Police
WINNIPEG, MB, May 14, 2025 /CNW/ - After discovering a mass slaughter of caribou, including cows in the final stages of pregnancy, and catastrophic vandalism on his lands in Northern Canada, an American lodge owner is calling on the government and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to restore law and order. Nick Scigliano, owner of two lodge properties within Canada's Nueltin Lake Provincial Park, discovered the devastation during an April 11 th spring wellness inspection of his float plane dock and buildings which were forcibly entered, severely damaged, and stripped of valuable contents. Further north at his Treeline Lodge, Scigliano witnessed dozens of dead caribou strewn across the snow, stained red with blood. Observation of several individuals, snowmobiles, and packed trails evidence that the lodge was being used as a slaughterhouse. "I couldn't believe my eyes," Scigliano said. "Snowmobiles were chasing caribou across the lake and there were piles of dead animals everywhere." Fearing potential conflict, Scigliano chose not to land and immediately traveled to the City of Thompson and reported the incidents to the RCMP and Conservation Services. On April 18 th, Scigliano and law enforcement together visited the properties and found that the lodge was occupied and another mass caribou killing had occurred in front of the float plane dock. "The destruction was overwhelming — cabins ransacked, furniture burned for firewood, and human waste inside the buildings," added Scigliano. "It's sickening and emotional to see everything destroyed, and even worse, was the tone from law enforcement suggesting little could be done," Scigliano said. Subsequent inspections revealed similar devastation at his second property, Kasmere Lake Lodge, including the burning of parts of a historic log structure for firewood. Among his most disturbing discoveries were the remains of numerous unborn caribou calves left behind in the carnage. "It's senseless," said Scigliano. "This is not subsistence hunting. They killed wastefully and left dead carcasses on my doorstep. These images will haunt me forever." Originally planning to restore the lodges as fishing and eco-tourism hubs, Scigliano now fears the future of the properties and the Park itself is uncertain. "Nueltin Lake Provincial Park was once a symbol of conservation and sustainability. It was Canada's original fishing 'catch and release' lake. It is a pristine wilderness that cannot be allowed to become a desecrated lawless zone," he said. "We need real accountability, and we need government to act. Lawlessness simply cannot be allowed." Nueltin Lake Provincial Park is located approximately 700 miles north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Winnipeg Free Press
13-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Premier says hunters behind caribou slaughter to be punished
Premier Wab Kinew promised Tuesday that the people who slaughtered dozens of caribou, including pregnant cows, and dumped their carcasses at the doorstep of American-owned lodge properties in a provincial park, would be punished. 'Anybody who participated in this has no respect for animals, has no right to be able to hunt in this province and will be pursued and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,' Kinew told the legislature in response to questions about the grisly discovery in Nueltin Lake Provincial Park last month. 'We're going to do that by working with non-Indigenous and Indigenous people,' the premier told the house, saying he's spoken to people who live off the land in that part of the province. Nick Scigliano, who owns two lodge properties in the park just south of the border with Nunavut, shared video of the grisly scene, discovered April 11, when he chartered a helicopter to check on his properties. He said he used his phone to record video from the air of people on snowmobiles chasing caribou and of dozens of dead caribou strewn in bloody piles across the snow. The video shows a helicopter door open at ground level and people passing by on snowmobiles. Scigliano said he didn't confront them before flying to Thompson to file a report to RCMP and Manitoba Conservation. He later returned to the site with RCMP. The lodge owner said near-term calves were among the caribou carnage, as well as unharvested meat. Cabins had been stripped and trashed, with furniture used as firewood. The vandals left human waste behind. The Florida resident, who has businesses in Pennsylvania and is an avid outdoorsman, bought the lodge four years ago. He planned to restore the buildings as fishing and eco-tourism hubs. Scigliano said he gave conservation officers and police 8,000 images and video surveillance clips that show several snowmobilers dragging the caribou carcasses behind their machines to the lodge property and hacking at them. 'I feel that it's just critically important for the public and for your leadership to be aware of the magnitude of what has occurred,' he said Tuesday. 'These images in the video, they speak for themselves.' In the legislature Tuesday, Tory natural resources critic Rick Wowchuk demanded to know what the province is doing about the 'senseless waste of caribou and this unsustainable madness.' The member for Swan River said in an interview the video upset him and should upset all Manitobans. 'When cows are returning to the calving grounds to give birth and to bring on the next generation, it's just totally unacceptable to see this type of slaughter occur.' NICK SCIGLIANO PHOTO The grisly scene was discovered on April 11, when lodge owner Nick Scigliano chartered a helicopter to check on his properties. NICK SCIGLIANO PHOTO The grisly scene was discovered on April 11, when lodge owner Nick Scigliano chartered a helicopter to check on his properties. Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie said RCMP and Manitoba conservation officers are on it. 'I am deeply concerned by these reports of unethical hunting practices and wastage,' Bushie said in a prepared statement. 'We want to ensure that caribou can continue to be harvested for generations to come… it is critical that we hold the people involved to account,' said Bushie who was not available for an interview. The RCMP said Tuesday that no arrests have been made. Manitoba Conservation wouldn't comment on the active investigation or say whether charges are under consideration. Scigliano said he doesn't know the motive, or if it has anything to do with him being American and animosity towards the U.S. over tariffs and rhetoric about making Canada the 51st state. 'I sure hope not. That would be so sad, because I do not agree with the 51st state rhetoric whatsoever.' The Manitoba Wildlife Federation, which advocates for hunters, anglers, trappers and sport shooters, said the slaughter has to stop for the sake of the Qamanirjuaq caribou herd. 'We can't be shooting pregnant cows and expect a population to survive,' said federation policy analyst Chris Heald, who travelled to the site with Scigliano. 'It's hard to process what we witnessed,' Heald said Tuesday. 'The wastage of the meat and the shooting of the cows, it's just beyond words.' In a bulletin Tuesday, the federation said the herd has declined to 253,000 animals in 2022 from 496,000 animals in 1994. 'To ensure caribou are maintained for northern Indigenous communities, as well as for non-Indigenous caribou hunters, it's time for serious conversations that include everybody, to ensure that all hunters embrace sustainable caribou harvesting,' it said. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. The provincial government must take the lead by getting all stakeholders to the table and laying down the law, said Heald, who noted Indigenous hunters are legally allowed to harvest cows right now. 'The province has to sit everybody down to have some difficult discussions,' he said. Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said the government is committed to listening to Indigenous communities, hunters and lodge owners. 'We're always listening to one another and bringing Manitobans together to find solutions.' Carol SandersLegislature reporter Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol. Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Global News
Saskatchewan Rush power past Swarm at home, advance to NLL's semi-final series
Hearing the final buzzer sound at SaskTel Centre on Saturday night, Saskatchewan Rush goaltender Frank Scigliano turned to the crowd and took part in what's become a time-honoured tradition for the team. That being a steady pounding of his chest, celebrating a win which Rush fans have been working years towards. 'When I'm back home and sometimes I'm feeding my baby a bottle I'll go, 'Pound your chest Saskatchewan,'' said Scigliano. 'I'm doing the hand thing with her and my wife is giving me a hard time.' The Rush gave fans a lot of reasons to pound their chests on Saturday, moving on to the National Lacrosse League semi-finals with a 13-9 victory over the visiting Georgia Swarm. Saskatchewan's quarter-final victory over the Swarm not only has kept their season alive, but marked the franchise's first post-season victory since winning an NLL championship in 2018 and their first playoff game in general since 2019. Story continues below advertisement 'Six years is a long time for a team not to be in the playoffs,' said Scigliano. 'Obviously I wasn't here for all of that but to be part of the disappointment last year and to see how far we've grown over the last year, it's nice to feel and we're a confident bunch.' Trailing 2-0 to the Swarm to begin the game, the Rush were able to get six goals from six different goal scorers in the opening half to take a 6-3 lead into the break. Saskatchewan successfully fended off pressure from Georgia over the second half, with the Swarm unable to tie the game up from the first quarter onward. Transition threat Jake Boudreau had one of the best offensive games of his professional career Saturday, leading the team with four goals and five points on the night with even more chances off the rush. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'It would have sucked to work hard all year and lose [Saturday],' said Boudreau. 'You can kind of tell we played with everything we had. We want to enjoy the fruits of our labour and they're still not ready to be picked yet.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It would have sucked to work hard all year and lose [Saturday]," said Boudreau. "You can kind of tell we played with everything we had. We want to enjoy the fruits of our labour and they're still not ready to be picked yet." Finishing the night with 39 saves, Scigliano came through with some monster saves in the second half to keep the Rush in the lead, including an aerobatic stop with his stick on a rebound chance for Swarm forward Shayne Jackson. Story continues below advertisement 'Someone was watching out for me,' said Scigliano. 'You always like to try and track the ball the best you could. I made a save and I saw the rebound end up right on his stick, I kind of threw my stick up there. Luckily, I was able to get a piece of it.' That save came just minutes after the Rush were dealt a five-minute major penalty for forward Clark Walter on an illegal cross-check, which Georgia scored on immediately. 2:08 Saskatchewan Rush prepping for NLL quarter-finals, highly anticipated return to playoffs However, Saskatchewan was able to lock down defensively for the remainder of the penalty kill and even got a shorthanded marker from Austin Shanks to bring momentum back to their side. 'We blocked shots, we knocked down passes, Frank made a couple of saves,' said Rush co-head coach and general manager Derek Keenan. 'We got the shorthanded goal and towards the end, they got [a penalty] and evened it up. It's just guys putting their bodies on the line.' Story continues below advertisement Saskatchewan's win sets up a best-of-three semi-final series against the Halifax Thunderbirds, which will begin next Saturday on the East Coast for Game 1. With the 4,300 kilometres separating the two teams, and even more for the British Columbia players flying in, Keenan said the Rush will be heading to Nova Scotia early to get themselves acclimatized before the first game of the series. 'We're going to go in a day early,' said Keenan. 'We'll be prepared, get a good practice in and it will be a lot better for us. We'll come back here the next week, and if it goes three [games], we're going to have two here and we earned that. We earned that second-place position.' Halifax has been a thorn in the side of the Rush for the last several years, with the Thunderbirds handing Saskatchewan a 17-9 loss on March 14 in their final game of their regular season series. Battling one of the top offensive groups across the entire NLL, Boudreau said it's a perfect opponent for the Rush to raise their level of play against. 'The path we're going to take if we're going to make it to the championship it would be good for us to beat them,' said Boudreau. 'To prove to ourselves that they're not better than us and that we can play with them.' Story continues below advertisement Game 1 between the Rush and Thunderbirds will be played on May 3 at 4:30 p.m., with the series shifting to Saskatchewan for Game 2 and, if needed, Game 3 the following weekend.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
American Airlines Plane Turns Around After Passenger Reportedly Throws Fit Over Meal
An American Airlines flight was forced to turn back around after a disruptive passenger began to frighten other passengers on the way from New York to Milan on Tuesday, April 8, the airline said. AA Flight 198 departed from John F. Kennedy International Airport around 7 p.m. on Monday, April 7. Four hours into the eight-hour journey, the crew announced that the plane would be heading back to New York. The decision to return to the departure city came after one passenger became angry because he didn't receive his preferred meal, CBS News reports. He was also informed that he couldn't sit in an exit row with a baby. 'The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority and we expect our customers to comply with federal regulations to follow crew member instructions. We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans and we thank them for their understanding,' an American Airlines representative said in a statement to PEOPLE. After the plane was rerouted, it landed safely at JFK at 3:30 a.m., passenger Michael Scigliano told CBS News. The passengers left again on Tuesday at around 11 a.m., 16 hours after their initial takeoff. CBS News reports that a police source said the man was released without criminal charges. Related: A Couple Ordered Pringles, a Coke and a Water on Their Flight. Then They Were Escorted Off the Plane by Police Passenger Krystie Tomlinson told CBS News that she and other passengers 'noticed a scuffle in the back.' 'They were asking around if there were any police officers or Army members, or somebody who could help because there were no air marshals on," Tomlinson said, noting that the passenger in the back 'was charging at the stewardesses.' 'At some point, he charged past all of our seats and tried to barge into the pilot's cabin," Tomlinson continued. "Apparently, the whole thing started because of a meal choice they didn't get. I guess they asked for it ahead of time. They never got exactly what they wanted. They also wanted to sit in an exit row. They had a baby with them, so they told them they couldn't and apparently those two things are what pushed the person over the edge." "The guy was still in the back of the plane unprotected, unrestrained, which was a little bit scary considering we had a plane full of 300 people and there was no air marshal on board, and we've got this crazy man in the back," Scigliano told the outlet. He also noted that the crew was 'telling everyone that there were technical issues on the plane, which is even scarier.' Related: Man Arrested After Allegedly Attempting to Open Emergency Exit Doors and Choking a Crew Member During Flight Both Scigliano and Tomlinson told CBS News the airline did not accommodate passengers once they returned. They noted that they stayed overnight at the airport while they were waiting to depart once again. "I asked to use the American Airlines lounge to breastfeed and change. They said you can go in if you pay $79," Tomlinson told the outlet. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Representatives for the FAA and the New York Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for more information on Wednesday. Read the original article on People
