The Longueuil deer case was back in court on Friday morning. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Montreal and the organization Sauvetage Animal Rescue have asked the Court of Appeal to stay the slaughter of the deer until the case can be argued in court. superior.
Last month, the Court of Appeal agreed to hear the two animal rights organizations who wanted to appeal the judgment of the Superior Court handed down on October 4, which refused them a stay in this case.
The question of the public interest is at the heart of the dispute. The City of Longueuil had announced its intention to conduct a controlled crossbow hunt in Michel-Chartrand Park, where deer would be in excess. The City invoked the public interest in this file given the damage caused by deer on the park’s vegetation and biodiversity.
After hearing the parties, the judges took the case under advisement, specifying that the City of Longueuil could not go ahead with the slaughter of deer until the decision of the Court of Appeal was rendered.
The two animal rights organizations would like the Superior Court to be able to rule on the merits of the case. “We want to ask the question more broadly. As a Quebec society, what is acceptable nowadays in terms of wildlife population control? Is it still acceptable to kill animals because they cause inconvenience? “explained the acting director general of the SPCA, Sophie Gaillard, at the end of the hearing. Since 2015, the Civil Code has recognized that animals are sentient beings, she recalled.
The Court of Appeal did not say when it would issue its decision.
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