The mayoress of Longueuil, Catherine Fournier, still intends to move forward with the deer slaughter project at Michel-Chartrand Park despite her meeting on Tuesday morning with animal rights activists, including lawyer Me Anne-France Goldwater. The City of Longueuil has also just obtained the certificate of good care from the ethics committee of the University of Montreal, one of the conditions required to proceed with the operation.
“I think there was a will to put the process on hold, but that’s not possible. We are really at a point of no return when it comes to the ecological balance of Parc Michel-Chartrand ”, Mayor Fournier explained to Duty.
Accompanied by the vice-president of the executive committee, Jonathan Tabarah, and representatives of the Concertation Table on the Ecological Balance of Parc Michel-Chartrand, Catherine Fournier virtually met several opponents of deer slaughter, including Mr.e Goldwater, Eric Dussault, Executive Director of Sauvetage Animal Rescue, as well as two citizens of Longueuil.
“Even if we have positions that are not the same, I think it is interesting to be able to expose them respectively”, indicated Mme Fournier. “I have always been open to meeting anyone who was concerned about this issue. “
The mayoress said to exclude the possibility of creating a “zoo” inside the park to protect the deer, as Eric Dussault suggested in the fall. “We cannot start creating zoos all over Quebec because there is an overpopulation of deer. It is sad. This is a situation that has been allowed to deteriorate, particularly in the Michel-Chartrand park. That’s why it takes a more drastic solution at this point, but it is precisely in order to be able to avoid it in the future. “
However, she indicated to her interlocutors that she was ready to discuss with them solutions to control the deer population in the future, notably referring to the sterilization of animals.
That said, the City intends to carry out an operation to capture and euthanize at least sixty deer by the end of February. Before that, she will have to carry out a deer counting operation. “The last count had listed 70, but we think there could be a hundred”. Remember that the Table de concertation report indicated that given the capacity of Parc Michel-Chartrand, the deer population should be limited to between 10 and 15 individuals.
The City has just obtained the certificate of good care from the ethics committee of the University of Montreal, a necessary step to obtain the logging permit from the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks. The City is also in discussions with a company that could proceed with the operation. “There are not many companies doing that in Quebec and there will be confidentiality issues because with the threats that are current, it is certain that it makes companies very cautious”, explained the mayoress.
Relocate deer
Joined by The duty, Me Anne-France Goldwater is surprised that Mayor Fournier publicly affirms her administration’s intention to move forward with the euthanasia of the majority of deer in Michel-Chartrand Park. The lawyer maintains that during the meeting, the mayoress said that the City’s decision was not stopped. “At the end of the meeting, which lasted 55 minutes, [on a convenu] that we were in favor of continuing the discussions ”, specified Mr.e Goldwater.
The group of Me Goldwater proposed several scenarios, including the relocation of the deer at the expense of Sauvetage Animal Rescue. He also suggested – if the relocation option was rejected – setting up an enclosure in the park to herd the deer that would be sterilized, fed and cared for for 10 years. “We will do animal management on the site for 10 years free of charge [pour la Ville] », Assured the lawyer. “We are proposing a real management plan with which we will treat the entire herd against parasites. “
Me Goldwater argues that the City’s plan to euthanize deer will cost Longueuil taxpayers $ 4,333 per animal. According to her, there is no urgent need for the City to act in the middle of winter. “When we talk about danger, can we limit ourselves to the situation of hospitals? That is a danger. “
The lawyer does not rule out the possibility of going to court to prevent the slaughter of deer, even if she would prefer to reach an agreement with the City. “We are slaughtering the animals of the planet, all species combined, but some manage to cohabit with us and we want to murder them too?” She asks.
Recovered meat
Catherine Fournier declined to comment on the possibility of legal proceedings. “We are very solid legally. We do not think that there is a matter of dispute, ”she said.
According to the City’s plans, the meat from the euthanized deer will be donated to food banks. An agreement has also been made with the École d’hôtellerie de la Montérégie, which will be responsible for preparing the meat which will be entrusted to Moisson Rive-Sud, which will distribute it to organizations in Longueuil.