In a last attempt to prevent the slaughter of deer in Michel-Chartrand Park in Longueuil, the Montreal SPCA and the organization Sauvetage Animal Rescue, represented by Mr.e Anne-France Goldwater, addressed the Quebec Court of Appeal on Wednesday.
On October 4, Superior Court Judge Andres Garin rejected the request for a stay filed by the SPCA and by Sauvetage Animal Rescue so that the controlled crossbow hunting operation scheduled for the fall be postponed. He felt that the requested reprieve would make the deer overpopulation problem worse and that it would become even more difficult to find a solution to remedy it.
On Wednesday, the two organizations asked the Court of Appeal to grant them leave to appeal this judgment, considering that the trial judge had erred on several aspects, in particular on the question of the public interest. In this case, the City of Longueuil had pleaded the urgency of acting given the devastation caused by the excess deer in Michel-Chartrand Park.
The SPCA considers that the case of the Longueuil deer is of general interest. “For the Montreal SPCA, the deer situation in Michel-Chartrand Park is emblematic of a much broader problem that we see everywhere in Quebec these days, namely how we manage responsibly and respectfully animal wildlife problems,” said Sophie Gaillard, acting director general of the Montreal SPCA, at the end of the hearing. “We saw it in the case of the polar bear in Gaspésie. This is a question that concerns people and it is not acceptable for Quebec society to simply kill animals when it is not our business that they are there. »
Elsewhere in the world, wildlife management methods that do not rely on lethal measures, such as contraception, have proven successful, she said.
For his part, M.e Anne-France Goldwater fears that if the court gives reason to the City of Longueuil and allows the slaughter of deer, it will result in tensions on the ground. “I am indeed afraid that [les militants] occur. That’s why I trust the courts because for me, it’s the civilized place where we try to advance rights, and even new rights. I keep on trusting [aux tribunaux] because I want to avoid confrontations between armed hunters and the population of Longueuil. »
After hearing the parties on Wednesday, Justice Stephen W. Hamilton of the Quebec Court of Appeal indicated that he would try to render his decision by Friday or in the following days.