Longueuil deer cull to go forward after death threats, legal disputes

A Montreal suburb says its long-awaited cull of nuisance deer in a local park will finally go ahead in the fall of 2024.

Since 2020 activists have tried to stop the City of Longueuil from going through with its plan, with successive mayors receiving death threats over the issue.

But after a series of legal disputes, city officials confirmed today it will permit a controlled crossbow hunt to reduce the deer population at Michel-Chartrand Park to between 10 and 15 from 117 at last count.

The city has warned that the white-tailed deer are contributing to road accidents, increasing the risk of Lyme disease in residents, and travelling to nearby areas to seek food.

Quebec's Court of Appeal in October upheld a decision authorizing the crossbow huntafter animal rights organizations and activists fought the plan in court.

Mayor Catherine Fournier says the final price tag to cull the dear is unclear, but she says the legal fight has already cost the city $375,000.