The deer file in Michel-Chartrand Park ended up before the Superior Court on Wednesday. Lawyer Anne-France Goldwater, who represents an animal rights organization, criticized the City of Longueuil for having reneged on its commitment not to carry out the slaughter of deer before the court rules on the dispute.
On behalf of Sauvetage Animal Rescue, Mr.e Goldwater had filed a request for a safeguard order to obtain a reprieve for the slaughter of overpopulated deer in Michel-Chartrand Park.
According to her, the City showed bad faith in this file by suggesting that it was renouncing the euthanasia of animals last June, before finally opting for a controlled hunt with a crossbow in order to reduce the deer population. . The City wanted to “deceive the population” and “deceive the Superior Court” by not waiting for the court to be able to decide the dispute, believes Me Goldwater.
Remember that after announcing in November 2021 that it intended to kill around sixty deer in this park because of their overpopulation, the City of Longueuil had announced last February that it was postponing the capture operation until the fall. and deer euthanasia.
Then, in June, the municipal administration had affirmed its intention to suspend the operation in order to allow the court to decide the question. A month later, change of course: the City now intended to conduct a “controlled hunting” operation with crossbows, given the urgency of the situation.
Not the right method, according to the complainants
Thus, alleged M.e Goldwater, in February, in light of a new inventory which brought the number of deer in Michel-Chartrand Park to 108, the City already knew that the capture and euthanasia of deer were not the method that would be adopted. because it would not have reduced the number of deer significantly enough. “They already knew when they made their commitment [de suspendre la capture et l’euthanasie des cerfs en juin]. They had to laugh in their beards,” she said. “It was window dressing because we had no intention of going ahead with this plan. Their idea was already determined on February 25 or in the days that followed. »
Me Goldwater also believes that the decision of the City of Longueuil to proceed with the slaughter of dozens of deer is not rational because the municipality has not considered other options. According to her, the City should have developed a deer population management plan that would allow the deer to be sterilized and dewormed, because eliminating them without taking other measures to control the population will require more deer culls in the future.
The lawyer for the City of Longueuil, Jean-Pierre Baldarasse, retorted that the municipal administration had changed its strategy by opting for controlled hunting of deer due to the significant increase in the deer population.
After taking note of the inventory of the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP) which revealed that the number of deer in Michel-Chartrand Park had gone from 72 to 108 animals, the City then realized that the method of capture and euthanasia could no longer be considered given the number of deer to be slaughtered. Me Baldarasse argued that the “extreme urgency” of the situation forced the City to take responsibility and consider controlled crossbow hunting.
Last August, Longueuil obtained its license from the MFFP for controlled crossbow hunting in the park.
The hearing taking place at the Longueuil courthouse continues Wednesday afternoon.