Glen Seifert

Glen Seifert (played by Jeremy Ratchford) is the main antagonist and an Animal Regulation officer based in Southeastern Ontario. Just like Thomas Alden, he is very aware of the harm that could come from urban development in their rural community and the destruction it would bring to the environment. Seifert is, however, a by-the-book officer, and when Alden comes to him for advice about the orphaned Canada geese his daughter Amy has found, he explains that the regulation office frequently gets calls about domestically raised geese landing on lawns and golf courses. Ordinance 9314 was established to render these geese flightless through a simple wing clipping procedure. Seifert attempts to clip one of the goslings' wings, but Amy reacts violently and an indignant Thomas tells him to stay off their property. Officer Seifert declares that if the geese fly, he will have to confiscate them.

When the Aldens begin planning a migration route to North Carolina, teaching the geese to follow ultralight aircrafts, Seifert comes to spy on them and later confiscates the geese while the family is away. David Alden and Barry Strickland show up at the Animal Regulation office and find the geese kept in individual cages outside the building. They wait until Seifert leaves for a local school presentation and David Alden distracts the remaining officer, allowing Barry to cut the padlock on the cages and release the geese. Thomas Alden and his daughter then approach the office on their aircrafts and the birds follow. They fly over the school while Glen Seifert is speaking to the students, and the whole class runs outside to see. Seifert is left speechless.

Background Information The character of Glen Seifert was inspired by Canadian Wildlife Service bureaucrat Joe Carreiro who was in charge of enforcement and compliance and issued permits for scientific purposes when Bill Lishman first began imprinting Trumpeter swan cygnets. Lishman had the proper documents to conduct the operation, but Carreiro did not consider them valid and had the birds confiscated. Launching court action against the Crown would have been too costly, and Lishman decided to let go.