Longueuil deer: No slaughter until judge renders decision, city's lawyers promise

South Shore deer cull before the courts The legal fight continues to save deer in Longueuil as animal rights activists try to stop a cull at Michel Chartrand Park.

The fate of the Longueuil deer is, at least in the short term, in the hands of Judge Stephen Hamilton of the Quebec Court of Appeal, who said he hopes to render a decision on Friday or in the following days.

The judge heard Wednesday from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and Animal Rescue, which are seeking to block the City of Longueuil's slaughter of white-tailed deer, still scheduled for this fall.

The substance of the case -- whether to cull the deer in Michel-Chartrand Park or attempt to capture and relocate them -- was far from the parties' minds on Wednesday, however.

On Oct. 4, Superior Court Judge Andres Garin had refused to issue a safeguard order to prevent Longueuil from culling almost all of the deer through controlled crossbow hunting. As soon as the decision was rendered, the city announced that it would proceed with its herd reduction plan.

The two agencies are appealing the decision not to grant the safeguard order and are asking the Superior Court to issue a safeguard order pending a decision on the merits.

Justice Hamilton has not issued such an order, nor has he announced whether the Court of Appeal will hear the appeal, but he has received assurances from the city's lawyers that there will be no slaughter of the animals until he renders a decision.

No one disputes the fact that Michel-Chartrand Park is suffering from deer overpopulation, with the herd tripling since 2017 to some 108 animals, while the park's capacity is only 10 to 15 of them. The applicants, in this case, are primarily concerned about the welfare of the deer. The City of Longueuil, on the other hand, wants to save Michel-Chartrand Park, whose flora is seriously threatened by grazing, and protect its biodiversity. Numerous collisions with cars have also been reported, as well as damage to the greenery to the homes of residents living on the edge of the park.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 19, 2022