The Plante administration called for patience on Monday in the face of the increase in deer in eastern Montreal and the resulting increase in collisions.
In the wake of a case of The Press on the phenomenon, the person responsible for the file argued that the City was still waiting for the report of a committee of experts formed in spring 2022 before making a decision.
“It is not a decision that we take lightly, to slaughter animals,” argued Laurence Lavigne-Lalonde to the municipal council, faced with questions from the opposition. “We will make our decisions public when they are made and not before. »
Mme Lavigne-Lalonde has just inherited the large parks file. Her predecessor, Caroline Bourgeois, indicated last month that the “implementation of the intervention plan which had been proposed is being evaluated”, according to the local newspaper East Media Montreal.
“I have difficulty following all these contradictions,” lamented Stéphanie Valenzuela, an elected opposition official. “The overpopulation of deer in eastern Montreal has reached a critical level. »
There were 127 deer in the East of Montreal during the last count, carried out in February 2023 by the Ministry of the Environment, while a 2021 report recommended keeping only between 13 and 19.
Deer mainly live in the Pointe-aux-Prairies nature park, the Grou Coulee and the adjacent golf course, but they can also be seen in the Anjou golf area.
Already, in 2021, an inventory had made it possible to count 64 deer, i.e. double the number of deer spotted during the previous count, carried out in 2017. A report commissioned by the City of Montreal then recommended a reduction of 70 to 80% of the herd. , therefore the slaughter of 45 to 51 animals.
The number of collisions between cars and deer has also increased in recent years: there have been 126 in five years on the island, including 37 in 2022, which left 5 people lightly injured, according to data from the Society of Deer. Quebec automobile insurance (SAAQ). No data is yet available for 2023.