EDITOR'S NOTE: This article originally appeared May 3, 2024.
A large tree at Bromley Park has been cut down illegally.
Halton police said the tree – which locals added is approximately 80-years-old – appears to have been chopped down using a chainsaw overnight sometime around May 1.
Some residents reported on Facebook hearing a thump when it fell in, though none of them saw or heard a chainsaw.
The city removed the tree shortly after it fell, and is investigating with police. There are currently no suspects.
The city continues to investigate a similar incident at Tansley Woods where several trees were chopped down using a chainsaw at a Tansley woodlot in late April. It's unknown how many trees were illegally downed.
A person convicted of an offence under the Tree Protection By-law in Ontario is liable to a minimum fine of $500 per tree and to a maximum fine of $100,000 per tree.
While this act is shocking, residents in Bromley, UK, experienced an even worse experience in June 2023, when a man was arrested after chopping down 131 protected trees in what was being described by south London eco-warriors as a “tree massacre”.