Longueuil begins controversial deer cull to reduce population in local park

A Montreal suburb has started an cognition to termination white-tailed cervid successful 1 of its section parks, aft years of ineligible battles with activists seeking to prevention the animals.

A spokesperson for the City of Longueuil confirmed that Michel-Chartrand parkland is closed until further announcement portion hunters equipped with aerial rifles trim the size of the herd.

The metropolis conscionable southbound of Montreal has been trying to transportation retired a cull since 2020, but it faced a beardown backlash and ineligible challenges from carnal rights groups implicit the destiny of the deer.

It announced earlier this period that it had received a provincial Environment Department licence to proceed with the operation, which was the last measurement needed to statesman the cull.

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The metropolis has repeatedly said the colonisation of white-tailed cervid has grown acold beyond what the abstraction tin support, damaging the park’s ecosystem and contributing to roadworthy accidents and a hazard of Lyme disease.

Animal rights activists lobbied for the metropolis to relocate the excess cervid alternatively than sidesplitting them, but their efforts were yet rejected past twelvemonth by Quebec’s Court of Appeal.