The Royal B.C. Museum’s woolly mammoth is shown at the museum in Victoria in this undated handout photo. The centrepiece of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria, Woolly the mammoth, had pink paint splashed on his tusks by a protestor who said she was trying to draw attention to climate change.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Royal B.C. Museum *MANDATORY CREDIT*
VICTORIA – A centrepiece of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria, Woolly the mammoth, was defaced with pink paint by protesters trying to draw attention to climate change.
A statement issued by the new climate campaign “On2Ottawa” says washable pink paint was tossed at the tusks of the three-metre-tall mammoth to protest what it calls “criminal” federal government inaction on the climate emergency.
Victoria Police say three people were arrested for mischief on Wednesday and the incident remains under investigation.
A statement from the museum says staff members cleaned off the water-soluble paint and there was no permanent damage to Woolly, a giant replica of a mammoth whose tusks are made of Fiberglas.
Police say other visitors, including children, were present in the gallery when the paint was splashed.
The exhibition was reopened within 90 minutes.
The On2Ottawa group wants people to join a caravan to Ottawa that’s expected to leave Vancouver on April 1 to push for urgent actions needed to tackle climate change.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2023.
