Times Advocate, 1994-7-20, Page 17VIF.WFINDF.R
Times -Advocate, July 20, 1994
Page 17
Turtle doctor Max Dorman displays some of the. race hopefuls on the weekend.
ti
Jenlfer Barnett of Ailsa
olds champ Aladdin. Her turtle won one of 15 races
held on Saturday during CraigsCraig's Gala Days.
Race official Patty Barrell holds a race winner while she confirms who the trainer is.
Ailsa Craig Turtle Races a success
Officials are now trying to get the
Ministry of Natural Resources to allow
the races to continue indefinitely
AILSA CRAIG - The 20th annual turtle races featured at Ailsa Craig's
Gala Days were a success this year although the event was almost can-
celled by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
Last month the fate of the event was being questioned when officials
with the ministry told Gala organizers that they had received six corn -
',
plaints about the race.
Ministry officials said they must enforce the Fish and Game Act which
prohibits the taking of painted turtles from the wild.
At that time Gala organizers were looking at alternatives such as using
turtles from pet stores or getting permission to use the wild turtles for ed-
ucational purposes.
But after much discussion and a bit of consultation with Middlesex MPP
Irene Mathyssen, ministry officials gave the temporary go ahead for the
race.
And while there were record numbers of people at Gala Days on the
weekend, organizers say that had more to do with the warm weather rather
than media attention on the issue.
"Fortunately the weather was great because we lost a lot of promotion
time and incentive on our part when the race was being questioned," said
Gala Days chairman Glen Baillie.
Baillie said he was pleased That the weekend went so well in the end.
While the turtle races are the main draw of Gala Days - which Mathys-
sen officially kicked off - there was a lot more on the agenda including a
children's entertainer, baby and pet contests, craft shows, volleyball tour-
naments and a bale roll.
"This year we also had an education booth set up by the Upper
Thames Conservation Authority so people could learn about the tur-
tles," Baillie said.
And while Gala Days are now completed, officials are getting ready to
sit down with ministry officials and try to get permission to hold the races
indefinitely.
"One ministry official at the race told me unofficially that he was satis-
fied with how things were run," Baillie said.
Max Dorman and son Brad watch as their turtle Inches his way to the finish. Unfortunately he
wasn't fast enough.