The deer slaughter operation at Michel-Chartrand Park will take place in the fall of 2024, Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier announced on Wednesday.
The mayor stressed that the City maintained the option of controlled crossbow hunting and that it had no other choice to restore the ecological balance to Michel-Chartrand Park.
The legal appeals which lasted two years forced the City to resubmit a permit application to the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) and to launch a call for tenders. for controlled crossbow hunting. The SEG permit will be issued for the period from 1er September to December 31, 2024.
The vice-president of the City’s executive committee, Jonathan Tabarah, recalled that the situation at Michel-Chartrand Park was “critical”. “There is no more food,” he said, recalling that the 2023 inventory revealed that the green space contained 117 deer, while a park of this size can only support around fifteen individuals maximum. “Overpopulation harms them themselves,” he said.
Last October, Judge Robert Mainville, of the Court of Appeal, rejected the request of the organization Animal Rescue Service and citizen Florence Meney who wanted to annul the decision of the Quebec Ministry of Wildlife to authorize the City from Longueuil to slaughter deer.
Further details will follow.
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