Longueuil's deer population explodes beyond sustainable size months after city decided to forego cull
It's hard to walk in Longueuil's Michel-Chartrand Park without crossing paths with a deer.
They four-hoofed creatures are all over the place and fighting for limited food. Animal rights advocates say there could be as many as 70 of them, twice as many as last fall when, under public pressure, the city decided not to euthanize 15 of them to keep the population under control
“We already have an issue of overpopulation with 15 deer,” explained Eric Dussault, the director of Sauvetage Animal Rescue, a non-profit that offered to relocate the deer targeted for euthanasia to various zoos and nature parks in Quebec.
Biologists at the city of Longueuil determined that 15 is the maximum the small park can handle given its limited supply of food, but the city's plan to cull half the herd met with province-wide outrage and some city officials even received death threats.
When the dispute spilled over last fall, a compromise was reached. The City of Longueuil and other stakeholders convened around a table and were supposed to release a report this fall on how to solve the deer issue. Neither the city nor the organization called Les Amis du Parc Michel-Chartrand answered requests for comments
In the meantime, the deer population keeps growing, and experts think they won't survive in this environment much longer. Moving them to the wild is not an option, because provincial authorities are afraid they'll spread Lyme disease. Animal Rescue says it has a better solution: sterilize the animals and feed them during their six-year life cycle to make sure they don’t starve.
“If you sterilize them, it will be a great option because you just have to feed them for six years,” explained Dussault
Until a permanent solution is found, the deer population will just keep growing and fighting for fewer and fewer ressources
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.
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.
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.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
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.
'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.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
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.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.