LONGUEUIL, QUE. -- As of Friday morning, an electronic petition has collected more than 28,000 signatures from opponents of the City of Longueuil's decision to capture and kill half of the white-tailed deer living in Michel-Chartrand Park.
Genevieve Soza-Florent started the petition writing in a note accompanying the petition on the site www.change.org that she had hoped to collect only around 250 signatures.
Soza-Florent believes that the possibility of relocating the deer relocation has not been properly studied.
She feels a mass culling of deer is not a solution.
The City of Longueuil announced a few days ago its decision to euthanize white-tailed deer due to overpopulation in Michel-Chartrand Park. The city also promised that the animals' meat would be distributed to food banks.
The municipal authorities specify that the overpopulation threatens the ecological future of the park.
In addition, there is an increased risk of traffic accidents near the park and Lyme disease transmissions.
The City of Longueuil added that moving the deer would present significant drawbacks.
After the municipal authorities announced the decision to cull the deer, Longueuil Mayor Sylvie Parent received threats Longueuil police (SPAL) deemed sufficiently serious for a criminal investigation to be opened.
Soza-Florent denounced the threats, saying that they are neither productive nor respectful and that they discredit her movement.
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2020.
