Montreal-area city running out of options to control population of white-tailed deer

By The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — An animal-rescue group says the white-tailed deer population in a park on Montreal’s south shore has more than doubled — months after the local government refused to euthanize about 15 of the animals.

The Longueuil, Que., city administration backtracked on its plan to cull half the deer living in Michel-Chartrand park after the idea sparked outrage last November and led to the local mayor being threatened.

Longueuil planned to relocate the animals to a sanctuary but the plan fell through in February after a veterinary ethics committee with Université de Montréal deemed the strategy unsafe.

Sauvetage Animal Rescue director Éric Dussault said today there are now about 70 deer in the park, a number he says is several times what the urban green space can support.

Ethics committee chair Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt said today he doesn’t want to encourage euthanizing the animals but other options seem unrealistic.

Representatives for Longueuil weren’t immediately available for comment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 27, 2021. 

The Canadian Press

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