According to an appeals court decision issued Thursday, Longueuil can proceed with the slaughter of overpopulated deer in Michel Chartrand Park, rejecting the request of animal rights activists who oppose the city’s decision.
Published at 2:14 p.m. Updated at 2:48 p.m
The Court of Appeal therefore upholds the Supreme Court’s ruling of last August, which confirmed that “the city [de Longueuil] and the MFFP [ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs] We have done everything to ensure that controlled crossbow hunting is carried out with respect for the sensitivity of the deer and that their lives can be ended as gently and quickly as possible.”
Everyone agrees that the proliferation of these animals in the busy park leads to the deterioration of vegetation and poses a threat to road safety. Longueuil received approval from the MFFP in August 2022 to kill a maximum of 100 deer.
Opponents, the animal rescue group Sauvetage, advocated moving the deer instead, but experts rejected that solution, stressing that the animals would risk not surviving such an operation.
Sauvetage Animal Rescue, represented by famed attorney Anne-France Goldwater, also argued in its lawsuit that the group failed to fully assert its case against the slaughter.
“The city previously met with representatives from Sauvetage Animal to discuss actions needed to reduce the deer herd in the park. The city even accepted this organization’s proposal to relocate some of the affected deer. However, this proposal was rejected by the Ethics Committee because it did not meet the ethical criteria of animal welfare,” wrote Judge Robert M. Mainville of the Court of Appeals in his ruling denying leave to appeal the Supreme Court’s decision.
More details to follow.