Lawyer Anne-France Goldwater and the Montreal SPCA are making a final attempt on Wednesday to prevent the slaughter of white-tailed deer at Michel-Chartrand Park in Longueuil. They are asking the Court of Appeal to quash a decision of the Superior Court which refused to suspend the herd reduction operation planned by the municipality.
Posted at 2:11 p.m.
Me Goldwater and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) on Wednesday filed a request for leave to appeal the decision handed down by the Superior Court of Quebec on October 4. Judge Andres Garin then refused the request for a stay of execution for a controlled crossbow hunting operation authorized by the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP).
The SPCA believes that Judge Garin “made several errors in his analysis”. “Despite this first setback suffered before the Superior Court, the Montreal SPCA is not ready to give up on this file,” said Ms.e Sophie Gaillard, acting director general of the organization at the time. The case of deer in Michel-Chartrand Park being emblematic of an issue that is growing in importance in Quebec, our intervention aims to broaden the debate and trigger a real reflection on the responsible and ethical management of wild animals. wildlife in our communities. »
It should be noted that in his decision, Judge Garin concluded that “the evidence in the file corroborates the presumption that the Decision [l’abattage de cerfs] promotes the public interest and that suspending it would cause irreparable harm to that interest”.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Lawyer Anne-France Goldwater
“One thing is certain, the evidence in the file establishes the existence of a problem which in no way fades with the passage of time. On the contrary, it is exacerbated. The reprieve sought by the Plaintiffs would have the obvious consequences of aggravating the problem of deer overpopulation and the detrimental effects that flow from it. It would make any solution to this problem even more difficult. »
The judge also rejected the argument put forward by Mr.e Goldwater that the Animal Welfare and Animal Safety Act applied to white-tailed deer. “They have feelings, emotions, dreams. They know when they are going to die, “said the lawyer before the Superior Court.
According to Judge Garin, this legislation “does not apply, however, to wild animals such as white-tailed deer”. Rather, they are covered by the Wildlife Conservation and Development Act (LCMVF), which provides that these animals can be hunted.
The park, with an area of less than 2 km2, could house at most fifteen deer. The City says it has studied all the options: a round table has also recommended the euthanasia of the animals first, judging the movement too risky for animal well-being.