VICTORIA -- The statue of 18th century explorer Cpt. James Cook in downtown Victoria was targeted with red paint on Thursday morning.
City of Victoria workers were seen removing paint from the statue and the surrounding sidewalk on Thursday morning.
The city says that the Greater Victoria Harbor Authority (GVHA) has been alerted to the vandalism, as the statue is located on the harbour authority’s property.
Moving forward, the GVHA will be responsible for the remainder of the clean-up, according to the city. The municipality notes that “special consideration” is given when cleaning statues.
As of Thursday afternoon, no one had claimed responsibility for the red paint.
Earlier this summer, many statues in the U.S. and across the world were vandalized or torn down amid anti-racism protests.
In June, paint had to be removed from a statue of George Vancouver that sits outside of Vancouver City Hall.
The James Cook statue in Victoria’s Inner Harbour was first unveiled in 1976 to mark where Cook arrived on Vancouver Island in 1778, alongside George Vancouver.
