The fate of the deer in Michel-Chartrand Park, in Longueuil, was played out on Wednesday before the Superior Court of Quebec? Judge Andres Garin has been hearing arguments all day about a controlled hunting operation to reduce the herd, scheduled for this fall. He must make a decision in the coming weeks.
Updated yesterday at 6:52 p.m.
Lawyer Anne-France Goldwater, who represents a citizen of Longueuil, Florence Meney, and the organization Sauvetage Animal Rescue (SAR), demands that the operation be suspended until the court rules on the merits. of the case. The Montreal SPCA supports the request.
The City of Longueuil says it can’t wait any longer as the deer population continues to increase and the survival of Michel-Chartrand Park is threatened.
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.
Last May, Mr.e Goldwater had filed an appeal on behalf of SAR challenging the Longueuil decision. A month later, the City announced that it was suspending the capture and euthanasia operation while a court settles the dispute on this subject.
The parties, however, failed to agree on a timetable that could have led to a speedy hearing in court.
In the meantime, argues the City’s lawyer, Mr.e Jean-Pierre Baldassare, the situation has changed since Longueuil has obtained new information that the herd of Michel-Chartrand Park has increased from 72 to 108 deer, according to an inventory of the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP) . That’s when the city had to reassess its options, he told the court.
According to him, the City is empowered to make such a decision and has a legal permit from the MFFP to go ahead. On August 12, Longueuil obtained authorization from the Ministry for a crossbow-controlled hunting operation, which is valid until February 2023.
“Extreme dishonesty”
Anne-France Goldwater told the court that the City “is extremely dishonest” and that it “does not have clean hands”. According to her, the City has not seriously considered the other options. “They are going to use a crossbow [pour abattre les cerfs]. Who is watching the show The Walking Dead ? she pointed out, referring to one of the characters from this popular TV series who kills zombies with a crossbow.
On the merits, the lawyer also pleaded the Animal Welfare and Safety Act, which, according to her, would apply to deer in Michel-Chartrand Park. “They have feelings, emotions, dreams. They know when they are going to die,” she said.
In a speech, the lawyer for the Quebec government affirmed that this law does not apply to deer, wild animals and not domestic animals, he specified.
Anne-France Goldwater ended her plea by emphasizing that there is no urgency for the City to proceed quickly with the slaughter of deer. “They’ve known there’s been a problem for years and they haven’t done anything. »
“This park is in danger, retorted Me Baldassare. If we wait any longer, the costs for the City are beyond comprehension. According to the lawyer, the disadvantages suffered by the municipality if it could not go ahead are greater than the moral prejudice of the plaintiffs.
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- 238%
- Increase in the deer population in Michel-Chartrand Park since 2017, according to the City of Longueuil.
SOURCE: City of Longueuil
- 43
- Number of collisions with a deer in the Parc Michel-Chartrand sector, in Longueuil, for the year 2021. In 2020, this figure was 46 compared to 38 in 2019. These figures only include calls made by motorists to 911 after a collision with an animal, and could therefore be higher.
Source: City of Longueuil