Animal rights groups to appeal court decision allowing Longueuil deer cull
Two animal rights groups wasted little time in announcing they intend to challenge a Superior Court decision rendered Tuesday that allows the City of Longueuil to proceed with the culling of nearly 100 deer in one of its biggest parks.
The Montreal SPCA and Sauvetage Animal Rescue both said Wednesday evening they would seek leave to appeal to the Quebec Court of Appeal to stop the crossbow hunt of the overpopulated animals from going ahead this fall in Michel-Chartrand Park, on Montreal's South Shore.
The SPCA, which has intervener status in the years-long legal battle, said in a news release that the court "made several errors in its analysis" when it concluded that the inconveniences that would be suffered by the city would outweigh those of the plaintiffs in the case if the planned cull would be suspended.
"The case of the deer in Michel-Chartrand Park is emblematic of an issue that is becoming more prevalent in Quebec, and our intervention aims to broaden the debate and trigger a real reflection on the responsible and ethical management of wildlife in our communities," said Sophie Gaillard, the SPCA's acting executive director and head of legal affairs.
The animal welfare groups had argued that the deer could be relocated instead of killed to solve the overcrowding problems, but the city said that would bring more problems since their domestication in Longueuil made them too vulnerable to predators.
Some residents have also complained that the deer jump over the park's fence and eat cedar trees on the city streets.
Anne-France Goldwater, Sauvetage Animal Rescue's lawyer, said the court ought to have placed greater emphasis on the deer as sentient beings with distinguished rights.
"Here, the outrage that this inspires in me is that for a matter that they think is a 'nuisance' because too much of the shrubbery and saplings in the forest are being eaten — therefore, let's kill the deer," she said in an interview Wednesday evening.
"It makes no sense to me in the year 2022 we can have such a complacent attitude about our own environment."
Goldwater said she's hoping to have an emergency hearing in court as early as Friday.
The City of Longueuil said Tuesday following the Superior Court ruling that it would go ahead with the culling of the herd.
"The complete Response Plan, including the dates of the park's closure and the other procedures to be deployed, will be communicated to the population shortly, before the start of the hunting seasons," the city said in a news release.
"The City will not issue any further comment."
With files from CTV Montreal's Matt Grillo
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.