Vancouver police share 'sad reality' of opioid crisis
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Authorities in Vancouver gave a glimpse of the opioid crisis impacting neighborhoods in the Canadian city. (Supt. Michelle Davey/Vancouver Police Department/Twitter)
Authorities in Vancouver shared a grim look at the opioid crisis impacting neighborhoods in the Canadian city, with a photo on Twitter of three pigeon eggs sitting in a "nest" of discarded hypodermic needles.
The photo, posted by Superintendent Michelle Davey, shows three white pigeon eggs on top of used needles in a dirty sink.
"Pigeons spotted making a nest out of #needles in a #DTES SRO room. Sad reality of the #opioidcrisis #fentanyl #frontline #notstaged," Davey tweeted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Pigeons spotted making a nest out of #needles in a #DTES SRO room. Sad reality of the #opioidcrisis #fentanyl #frontline #notstaged pic.twitter.com/M0DDVLkL28
— Supt. Michelle Davey (@VPDSuperDavey) May 3, 2017
Vancouver police Sgt. Randy Fincham told Fox News the photo was captured Wednesday by a Homeless Outreach Coordinator for the department during an inspection of a vacant room of a building in the city's Downtown Eastside neighborhood.
"The picture was shared with the public to show the reality of drug use in the Downtown Eastside and to provide a rare glimpse into the lives of first responders, health care providers, and others involved in the opioid crisis," Fincham said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vancouver is dealing with a surge of fentanyl-related overdose deaths this year, a problem shared with other cities across the U.S. and Canada.
On Thursday, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a tweet there have been 141 overdose deaths in the city so far this year, calling it "BC's most tragic public health emergency in decades."
141 dead in #Vancouver so far this year from #fentanyl ODs. BC's most tragic public health emergency in decades #vanpoli #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/FTxapENoFN
— Gregor Robertson (@MayorGregor) May 4, 2017
On April 27, emergency responders in the province of British Columbia dealt with 130 suspected overdoses in a single day, an all-time high, according to CBC News.
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While Davey said in her tweet the photo was not staged, an ecologist who wrote a book on pigeons told CBC News he doesn't think the "nest" is real.
Luc-Alain Giraldeau, dean of the Faculty of Science at the Université du Québec à Montréal, told CBC News that pigeons always lay two eggs, and real nests are "covered with feces."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fincham, however, said the image was meant to start "a conversation about the harm reduction efforts of first responders, and the need for treatment options for substance users."