Quebec Court of Appeal agrees to hear legal challenge to Longueuil deer cull

Animal rights activists will be able to appeal a court decision delivered earlier this month that allowed the City of Longueuil to proceed with the culling of nearly 100 white-tailed deer in a local park.

The Quebec Court of Appeal agreed Tuesday to hear their arguments to stop the planned slaughter of the overpopulated animals that have taken over Michel-Chartrand Park until at least Nov. 25.

On that date, lawyers for the city and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Sauvetage Animal Rescue will plead their case during a one-hour hearing before Justice Stephen Hamilton.

"I am of the opinion that the situation is exceptional and the best interest of justice requires that that permission to appeal be granted," Hamilton wrote in a ruling on Tuesday.

The SPCA and Sauvetage Animal Rescue have been arguing that instead of killing the deer, the city should capture and relocate them, whereas the city has been pushing to cull the deer in a controlled crossbow hunt. The two agencies appealed an Oct. 4 court ruling not to grant a safeguard order and are asking the Superior Court to issue the order pending a decision on the merits.

At the heart of the case is the impact of overpopulation on the park and surrounding areas. The number of deer in the park has tripled over the last few years and the city has argued that the animals have caused collisions with motorists and caused damage to the greenery of people's homes on the edge of the park.