Parks Canada pauses Sidney Island deer kill after animals entangled in netting

Parks Canada has deed intermission connected the 2nd signifier of a arguable programme to eradicate invasive cervid from a tiny Gulf Island adjacent Victoria.

The nationalist parks bureau announced the determination Wednesday, aft video emerged that showed panicked and exhausted cervid entangled successful netting installed for the project.

Parks Canada installed astir 35 km of netting connected Sidney Island successful August. The nett was intended to corral the cervid truthful that marksmen could termination them.

“The determination to postpone the actions for 2024 was made arsenic a effect of respective factors, astir importantly the payment of the animals of the land and the deficiency of effectiveness of the netting installed to herd deer, causing a little probability of a palmy outcome,” Parks Canada said successful a statement.

“This intermission volition let for further consultations with First Nations and task partners connected a reimagined solution to execute eco-system restoration.”

The cervid eradication programme has been arguable from the get-go.

Parks Canada says the programme is indispensable to destruct hundreds of European fallow deer, which were introduced successful the mid-1900s and person devastated the autochthonal ecosystem.

The task has the enactment of the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership Council and respective section First Nations.

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In aboriginal 2023, land residents narrowly voted to o.k. Parks Canada’s program to destruct the animals, but determination has besides been beardown section opposition.

Some land residents accidental they person successfully managed cervid numbers connected their ain done backstage hunting, portion others person expressed quality information and carnal payment concerns.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has besides criticized the multi-million-dollar program, which it says has truthful acold spent astir $10,000 for each cervid killed.

Last December, the marksmen with the task changeable and killed 84 deer.

The hunters, Parks Canada and First Nations recovered astir 800 kilograms of nutrient on with hides and different usable materials that were distributed among W̱SÁNEĆ communities.