Deer found in Longuille territory have been involved in hundreds of road accidents since 2016. The police are increasingly called upon to intervene in situations involving animals, the number of which is growing in the meantime. the felling operation planned for this fall.
According to data obtained under an access to information request, since 2016, more than 450 road accidents – including around twenty resulting in injuries – have involved deer, which are present in excessive numbers in Longueuil, notably at Michel-Chartrand Park.
The stakes are such that the Court of Appeal authorized last October a herd reduction operation: around a hundred animals must be slaughtered in the coming months. If the felling had to be done first with a crossbow, the City of Longueuil announced last spring that it would instead be done with a compressed air weapon, “more effective than the crossbow and more suitable than the ‘traditional firearm’.
Joined by The Pressthe City of Longueuil had not commented further before the felling operation at the time these lines were written.
Read the article “Deer at Michel-Chartrand Park: Longueuil will cull next fall”
The figures do not show any significant trend over the years, but we have seen a certain upsurge since the pandemic period. From 34 in 2020, the number of accidents involving deer increased, reaching 58 in 2023. However, it was in 2018 that the greatest number of accidents was recorded (83), followed by 2016, with 72. For 2024, as of the end of June, animals were involved in 20 accidents.
Note that these events did not cause any deaths or serious injuries, but that 24 people were injured. Almost all of the accidents recorded were accompanied by material damage.
Calls on the rise
The Longueuil City Police Service (SPAL) has received an increasing number of calls concerning deer in recent years. In 2021, the number of reports stood at 140, a figure which jumped in 2022 to 178, then to 241 in 2023.
In the majority of the 751 calls received between July 2020 and July 2024, the SPAL had to deploy a patrol vehicle. In fact, 605 police interventions were carried out.
Most of the calls, specifies the police force, were intended to “report a dead or injured deer”. However, a certain number of these reports illustrate possible “inconveniences”. Of the lot, 28 reported “suspicious” behavior. “These are generally calls to report the presence of people who seem[ai]ent to hunt deer,” specifies the SPAL.
A negligible number of calls (three) were made for a possible “nuisance”, namely “citizens feeding animals”.