A United States-themed beaver sculpture designed to welcome World Cup tourists to downtown Toronto was destroyed over the weekend, prompting a police investigation and indignation from the U.S. ambassador to Canada.
The sculpture was among 51 distinct beaver statues clutching soccer balls under their paws that were displayed in various spots near the St. Lawrence Market and the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of special event organized by the local business district.
Until recently, the beaver stood four feet tall, with American flags on each cheek framing a wide, toothy grin. It sported a star-spangled USA jersey and was adorned with iconic American symbols, including the Statue of Liberty, a Hawaiian hibiscus flower and a raised Black fist, representing the Black Lives Matter movement.
Photos posted to social media show the beaver smashed to pieces and laying on its side surrounded by yellow caution tape.
The statue was damaged sometime Saturday night, the Old Town Toronto Business Improvement Area said in an email. The organization has reported the vandalism to police, said Robyn Posner, the organization’s director of marketing.
The American rodent is not the only victim: a “handful” of other installations have been damaged over the course of the exhibition, Posner said.
“While it’s disappointing, damage to temporary installations and public art is an unfortunate risk we anticipate when placing them in public spaces,” Posner said.
She called the beaver’s destruction “especially regrettable,” no matter what the culprit’s intentions were.
Beaver statues are taking over downtown Toronto for the World Cup
Police are aware and investigating what happened to the U.S. beaver, a Toronto police spokesperson said in an email.
Alyah Holmes, the American-Canadian artist who designed the sculpture, declined an interview on Tuesday afternoon, saying she has received threatening messages since news of the vandalism began to spread.
The incident caught the attention of U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, who chimed in on social media. “It was all Canadians that got hurt in the process,” he said, echoing a comment Holmes made to CTV News.
“This act didn’t hurt the United States,” Hoekstra said. “It hurt a gifted Canadian-American artist, the Toronto community, and the charity this art was set to benefit.”
Of the fleet of rodents, 48 are a tribute to a country represented in the World Cup, one celebrates the tourist-friendly neighbourhood and two welcome global visitors.
Together, they make up an artistic scavenger hunt put on by the business improvement area. No two creatures are the same.
Each beaver was hand-painted by artists with roots or other connections to those participating countries and equipped with a QR code linking passersby to a scavenger hunt registration.
Participants can earn points by completing challenges and get a chance to win gift cards to local businesses.
The scavenger hunt continues until Aug. 16.
