In Parc Michel-Chartrand in Longueuil, deer overpopulation is reaching a critical point, where there are now more than a hundred. Mayor Catherine Fournier says she is “forced” to revise her intervention. Despite an ongoing legal battle, a permit is being sought from the Legault government to conduct a “controlled hunt” of deer without the use of firearms.
Posted at 9:33am
Henri Ouellette-Vézina La Presse
According to the latest census from the Department for Wildlife, Forests and Parks (MFFP), there are currently 108 deer in the park, which puts the capacity closer to 10 to 15 of these animals. According to the city, this overpopulation weakens the park’s “ecological balance” and allows for the spread of the ticks that transmit Lyme disease, in addition to accidents and damage to residential buildings.
The situation “forces us to review both the way we work and our intervention objective, in order to act as quickly as possible, with a method better adapted to these new data,” Mayor Catherine Fournier explained on Wednesday.
According to the city, the number of deer represents a jump of 50% compared to last year and 238% compared to 2017. Also, since the data was collected ahead of the spring 2022 breeding season, “the current number of deer is certain even higher as the deer population tends to grow exponentially,” the authorities note.
A hunt controlled with a crossbow
Earlier last week, the mayor formally instructed the executive committee to apply to the MFFP for a permit to conduct “a controlled white-tailed deer hunt in the park — without firearms.” The city judges that this is an intervention method that is “better adapted to the new data on the herd” and “more effective” than the trapping and euthanasia technique. Everything will be done this fall, but “at different intervals”.
The city’s general administration has also been tasked with “developing a complete intervention plan required for this purpose, including all aspects of such an operation,” including “technical, security, environmental, awareness and citizen information,” explains Ms. Fournier.
His office states that controlled hunting is administered by a competent authority, most likely “with the crossbow”. “Permissions are also given to experienced hunters to kill the animals within a set period of time,” said spokeswoman Camille Desrosiers-Lafrenière.
In court
This is a new chapter in this saga that has drawn a lot of ink in Longueuil. Rather, in June the city announced its intention to suspend the slaughter of about 60 animals planned for next fall while a court resolves a dispute over the issue. In May, lawyer Anne-France Goldwater, representing Sauvetage Animal Rescue, appealed to have the animals euthanized as recommended by an expert.
Indeed, Ms Goldwater has heavily criticized Longueuil’s decision, outright calling it a “massacre”. “It’s cruelty. Basically we want to murder Bambi when there are several other solutions on the table,” she told La Presse.
“Given the urgency of the situation […] and despite ongoing court cases, it’s important to move forward,” said Mayor Fournier, whose administration reviewed “all options” on Wednesday. An advisory table had also recommended the euthanasia of animals and assessed the resettlement as too risky for animal welfare.
Longueuil Executive Committee Vice-President Jonathan Tabarah specified Wednesday that “the details of the full intervention plan, including details of the authorized hunting sessions, the frequency, the number of hunters authorized and distributed on the site, the mode of hunting, the occasional Closures of the park and the use of security measures will be communicated at the beginning of autumn”. The distribution of the meat to a table is still planned.
“If we don’t do something quickly, the park will be a disgrace, but we will lose it. We must take action as soon as possible,” stressed Mr. Tabarah, adding that the survival of local biodiversity is also at stake.