Montreal-area mayor receives death threats over plan to cull deer in local park

Catherine Fournier rises during question period, Wednesday, April 3, 2019, at the legislature in Quebec City. Fournier, now the mayor of a Montreal-area city, has allegedly been targeted by death threats in connection with a plan to cull most of the white-tailed deer living in a local park. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

The mayor of a Montreal-area city has allegedly been targeted by death threats in connection with a plan to cull most of the white-tailed deer living in a local park.

A spokesman for the City of Longueuil confirmed today that Mayor Catherine Fournier has been threatened in recent days and weeks by a single individual.

Longueuil police Insp. Gino Iannone says the mayor was placed under intermittent police protection in September due to her high-profile position and to concerning events that occurred even before the recent threats.

Last month, Quebec's highest court upheld a decision authorizing a controlled crossbow hunt to reduce the deer population at Michel-Chartrand Park to about 20 from more than 100.

For years animal rights organizations and activists have tried to block the cull, arguing that the methods chosen to protect the park should favour keeping the animals alive.

Fournier's predecessor, mayor Sylvie Parent, received threats in 2020 over the plan to cull the deer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2023.