Parks Canada says 84 deer had been shot and killed this month as part of a controversial program to eradicate an invasive inhabitants from Sidney Island.
Residents of the non-public island voted narrowly in February to assist the deer kill, which Parks Canada mentioned is critical to guard the island’s ecosystem. Nevertheless, there was vocal opposition from others on the island who really feel the measure will not be wanted and may very well be inhumane.
In a media launch Tuesday, Parks Canada mentioned throughout Dec. 1 and Dec. 11, three “extremely skilled, licensed marksmen used globally supported strategies to humanely scale back the deer inhabitants” on the island.
That operation concerned a mix of ground-based looking at evening, and taking pictures the deer from a helicopter through the day.
“Restoration groups reported that almost all of animals had been dispatched with a single shot; within the remaining circumstances, a second shot was taken to make sure of speedy and humane demise,” Parks Canada mentioned.
The hunters, Parks Canada and First Nations recovered about 800 kilograms of meat together with hides and different usable supplies that had been distributed amongst W̱SÁNEĆ communities.
Opponents to the deer kill have argued that island residents and hunters have efficiently lowered the variety of European fallow deer on the island from their peak greater than a decade in the past.
They’ve additionally raised considerations concerning the $6 million value of the operation, security and animal welfare.
Parks Canada, nevertheless, has careworn that the deer kill will not be a cull however an eradication.
In an interview in November, Gulf Islands Nationwide Park Reserve Supt. Kate Humble mentioned lowering the inhabitants — as islanders have accomplished — was not sufficient, as a result of the deer have all the time been in a position to breed and rebound.
“The actual goal of this undertaking is the long-term restoration of the forest ecosystem on Sidney Island which has been considerably broken and degraded attributable to over-browsing,” she mentioned.
The operation has additionally gained the assist of native First Nations.
Parks Canada mentioned it’s going to proceed to work with islanders over the approaching 12 months to plan for a second section of the eradication, slated to happen between Fall 2024 and Spring 2025.
That work will contain the set up of a community of non permanent fences which might be individually cleared of deer by ground-based hunters and monitoring canine.
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