As a journalist, I can't count how many times I've been told incidents of vandalism, how at times there seems to be a rash of these type of senseless damages perpetrated on innocent people's homes and businesses, and to public facilities of all types and descriptions.

A recent example of vandalism left me shaking my head, as I'm sure it did most people in the Weyburn area, when vandalism was reported occurring at the Therapeutic Animal Park.

This was probably done by teens, which will only increase the perception by people that roving packs of teens are inherently up to no good when they're spotted around the city.

I want to preface this topic by pointing out that, by and large, the vast majority of kids at the junior highs and the Comp are good kids, are socially-active and generally like going out with friends, hanging out and having fun - like most kids anywhere. But, as in many cases, there are a few, a minority, who for whatever reason have no concept of having respect for property.

These are the kind of teens who will go into a cemetery and knock over headstones, causing damages to businesses and schools, and "tag" slogans or pictures onto buildings all over the place. Why is it that they don't care about people's property? Did they grow up in a tough home or neighbourhood where they just didn't have much, where people didn't respect them?

Even if this was the case, it's no excuse for the kinds of damages that they perpetrate on innocent people. In this case, the Therapeutic Animal Park is the pet project of Weyburn resident Don Sealy, a tireless volunteer for the park as he seeks to improve and upgrade it, and to have something we can be proud of in the city, and be happy to take our children to, or see visitors touring, including the residents of Tatagwa View long-term care centre across the road.

Earlier on the very day the vandalism occurred (Oct. 19), I was at the park with a group of moms and their young children from a Family Place program; it was sweet seeing them enjoy the sight of the animals there, like seeing a little girl crouch down and make duck noises in the hopes one of them would come over to see her.

It was a beautiful fall day, and the group with program leader Jennifer Morin enjoyed the little trek to each enclosure to see the animals before going off to the play structures at the park, and then having a scavenger hunt on the Souris Valley grounds. One little girl was thrilled to be able to leave with a feather from one of the birds at the park.

Monday morning, however, I went down to meet Don, and I saw the damage done by vandals done late the night of Oct. 19. The fence for the calf was broken off the posts for quite a distance, giving the indication they were trying to knock the fence down to get the calf out. In the end, they broke open a couple gates and the calf did get out, although it was able to still be within the greater fenced area.

Sadly, the three ducks in the adjoining pen were taken, and one was later found dead out behind the park. As Don indicated, he has no idea where the other two ducks ended up or if they're even alive. The damages could've been much worse, but apparently the culprits were scared away by someone from Tatagwa View; thank goodness for that, or who know what else could've been done.

One has to wonder what on earth the culprits were thinking of to jump the fence and commit the damages done. What possible purpose was there? What were they trying to prove? How is stealing ducks and killing them "fun"?

Don shook his head at what was done, and said now he might have to think about putting in surveillance cameras to keep the park safe. Should that really be necessary? Can't people leave something like this alone with wrecking it?

It would be an incredible shame if good, hard-earned money had to be spent on something like cameras, just to keep bored teenagers from running through and causing damages, and it's certainly a shame that funds that could've been used elsewhere have to go towards the repairs of the damages. But then, I guess that's the world we live in now.