Quebec lawyer and animal rights activist Anne-France Goldwater hopes to be able to meet with Longueil Mayor Sylvie Parent in order to find practical solutions to avoid the city’s planned cull of white-tailed deer in Michel-Chartrand Park.
The City of Longueuil announced earlier in the month its decision to kill about 15 deer due to overcrowding in the local park.
Municipal authorities say the overpopulation threatens the ecological future of the park. There is also an increased risk of traffic accidents near the park and transmission of Lyme disease.
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The city says moving the deer elsewhere would have significant consequences.
Goldwater says the issue has prevented her from sleeping. In a Facebook post, she wrote that if the slaughter route is chosen, survivors will become more fertile and a new overcrowding problem will arise within a year or two.
The city also promised that the meat of the slaughtered animals would be distributed to charities. Goldwater said she believes this is a bad deal financially, considering the costs involved.
Parent, for her part, has said that the city has tried to find other solutions with the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks.
