Achi news desk-
The city of Montreal plans to hire rangers to tackle an overpopulation of white-tailed deer on the island’s east end on Tuesday.
Starting this fall, the City of Montreal will begin reducing the size of deer herds in east-end parks. The city said in a press release that there are currently 165 deer in the parks with a capacity of 25, and the number is growing “at an accelerating rate.”
The committee of experts that examined the deer population recommended that the municipality instruct “professional shooters” to reduce the herds in the Pointe-aux Prairies and Bois-d’Anjou parks.
“Decreasing the deer population is not a decision that the City of Montreal takes lightly,” said Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc Borough Mayor Laurence Lavigne Lalonde, who is responsible for major parks. “This is necessary, based on the recommendations received, and will be carried out with the utmost respect for the animals, while limiting their suffering as much as possible. We do not want to repeat this type of intervention, which is why Ville de Montréal is joining the PARCS en santé study, which will provide, among other things, a better understanding of deer movements – essential knowledge for assessing the feasibility of a sterilization strategy, in light of evidence-based data.”
Montreal’s official opposition leader, Aref Salem, said his Montreal Ensemble party would analyze the experts’ recommendations and criticized Mayor Valérie Plante’s administration for taking so long to deal with the deer.
“We regret the fact that the Planet government waited all this time before making a decision, despite accepting the recommendations of the expert team regarding the status of white-tailed deer in East Montreal since 2021,” Salem said. “In the meantime, the deer have multiplied and the situation has deteriorated.”
Veterinary biologists, in addition to university professors, made up the expert committee that made the recommendations.
“The scale of the effort required leads us to recommend the use of professional shooters to carry out an effective and safe operation that complies with the guidelines for the care and use of wild animals,” said Université Laval biology professor Jean-Pierre Tremblay. “The committee emphasizes the need for continuous knowledge acquisition to foster the development of a sustainable integrated intervention strategy.”
The city claims that the increase in the deer population has caused an increase in road accidents, damage to the ecosystem, disruption of food sources and a decrease in the bird population, among other negative effects.
In addition, deer brought with them increased black-legged ticks, known to spread Lyme disease.
The news release adds that alternative solutions were examined, such as moving the deer. The commission did not recommend moving the deer due to “multiple risks” of injury or complications leading to deer death, the press release said.
The municipality said it plans to plant 3.7 dunams of parkland, build enclosures, install signage and regularly count animals in the parks to protect the biodiversity in its parks.
The five-year, $2 million project will allow researchers to evaluate fertility control measures “to limit population growth” and reduce the need for interventions.
The Montreal plan comes after a legal saga in the suburb of Longueuil, where in October, the Court of Appeal finally rejected a request by animal activists to stop the smuggling of deer in Michel-Chartan Park. The court gave the city of Longuei the green light to breed up to 100 white-tailed deer for population control.
