A video from the Nextdoor app has been circulated on the internet after a resident of Anchorage, Alaska captured a garbage truck driver aggressively “chasing” a moose down the street. The concerned citizen contacted Northern Waste, the driver’s employer, and the driver was fired, according to a Facebook post by the waste-management company on December 31.
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In the video, the employee drives recklessly close to the moose, honking repeatedly until the moose and the truck reach the end of the block. When the moose turns and goes in a different direction, the garbage truck driver finally backs off.
Here is the video reposted to YouTube:
Taylor Summers of Anchorage, Alaska originally posted the video on Nextdoor with the caption: “Who taught this driver that this was okay?? I called Northern Waste and sent this video to them, they were not happy.”
In fact, the company was incensed, at least by the look of the company’s posts on social media, which repeatedly mention that Alaskans do not tolerate this level of reckless behavior toward wildlife.
One post read:
“As previously posted, it has been brought to our attention that a Northern Waste driver was caught driving recklessly through a neighborhood today harassing a moose running down the street. This person is NO LONGER EMPLOYED by Northern Waste. We are Alaskans and we will not tolerate this behavior, recklessness & cruelty. This is the first time anything like this has happened and we are committed to making sure this will never happen again. We promise to uphold our Alaskan values in all business practices. We have contacted Alaska Department of Fish & Game and are implementing further wildlife sensitivity & safety training for all drivers. We are working to reply to all social media comments, messages, texts & phone calls.”
Northern Waste further stated on December 31 that it will schedule a call after the holiday weekend to discuss the incident.
“We are implementing further wildlife sensitivity & safety training for all Northern Waste drivers and we are committed to making sure this will never happen again,” Northern Waste reiterated in a separate post.
The video on Nextdoor garnered nearly 300 comments from other concerned neighbors. Outrage was nearly ubiquitous among those who commented.
I am so glad that the moose was not harmed. The person who recorded this did the right thing and so did the company. It is so rare these days when a company reacts for the best outcome. This driver was totally reckless. We need to respect wildlife when we take over their habitat. No excuse for that driver’s behavior.