At the end of a legal saga which delayed the operation to control the overpopulation of white-tailed deer, the City of Longueuil finally obtained the necessary permit to kill deer at Michel-Chartrand Park. The operation will take place “this fall”.
According to information published Friday by the City, the Quebec Ministry of the Environment has granted it the necessary permit for “wildlife management” purposes at the urban park which is home to a constantly growing herd of white-tailed deer, including several are increasingly in poor physical condition.
“This step confirms the operation to control the overpopulation of white-tailed deer that Longueuil intends to carry out this fall in order to preserve the ecological balance of Michel-Chartrand Park, currently threatened,” specifies Longueuil in a press release.
“As soon as the operation begins, access to the park will be completely secure and temporarily closed to the population. A display specific to the operation — inside and around the park — will be deployed. The precise dates and terms will not be communicated in advance in order to maximize security and the smooth running of operations,” adds the City. A “specialized security firm” will be hired, as well as “a wildlife management professional company.”
This step comes at the end of a legal saga which lasted more than two years. This resulted in costs of $375,000 for the City. Remember that in October 2023, Judge Robert Mainville, of the Court of Appeal, rejected the request from the organization Animal Rescue Service and citizen Florence Meney, who wanted to overturn the decision of the Ministry of the Environment of Quebec to authorize the City of Longueuil to slaughter deer.
According to the City, time is running out to act, due to the overpopulation of deer in this park of barely 2 km2. The number of deer has in fact increased from 32 in 2017 to 114 this year, while the optimal ratio is 10 to 15 deer. An increase “in the number of dead deer in the area near Michel-Chartrand Park has been noted,” specifies Longueuil: 121 carcasses over the period 2021-2023.
Regional overpopulation
In the region, the overpopulation of white-tailed deer is not limited to Michel-Chartrand Park. Montreal intends to cull some 140 white-tailed deer this year in order to regulate the population in two parks in the east of the island.
Last fall, the Société des establishments de plein air du Québec (SEPAQ) shot and killed a total of 399 white-tailed deer in the Îles-de-Boucherville and Mont-Saint-Bruno national parks, in order to reduce overpopulation in these two protected natural environments: 319 animals in the Îles-de-Boucherville national park, on a herd of at least 436 deer, and 80 animals in the Mont-Saint-Bruno national park, on a livestock of at least 353 animals.
It must be said that the density of deer was clearly too high in the two parks, which caused damage to natural environments and had impacts on the habitat of other species. Excessive grazing by deer destroys vegetation and prevents its regeneration. The reduction in food at the Îles-de-Boucherville park also causes deer deaths every winter, while others have already left the park to go to residential areas of Boucherville.
With regard to the meat of the slaughtered animals, it was sent to the Generous Hunters program of the Quebec Federation of Hunters and Fishermen “for redistribution to food banks”.
According to data from the Quebec government, more than 55,000 deer were slaughtered in Quebec (with the exception of Anticosti Island) during the 2023 hunting season. This result is similar to that of 2022, “which had been an exceptional year,” specifies the Quebec Ministry of the Environment.