The city of Montreal has unanimously voted to kill all of the 1,800 deer that have been roaming a downtown park. Officials at the municipal government have argued that the park — estimated to be the largest urban park in Canada — is so overrun by the deer that it’s effect on local residents is more than enough to warrant the cull. “While we want to respect the right of park users to experience the animal’s nature, the very human cost is unacceptable,” says the City of Montreal on its website.
The animals are meant to roam the park, but largely stop moving to a fenced off zone in the park since it’s their natural territory. Several universities and the government of Quebec also manage the park, with about 18 hours of working time per day. The situation in the park has only gotten worse since the 1950s, when numbers were first found to have skyrocketed. This past winter, according to the government of Quebec, there were thousands of deer wandering around the city.
In the last few years, the city of Montreal has attempted to mitigate the city’s deer problem through programs such as social scavenging and sterilization, but in this last motion, the city has opted to eliminate all the animals permanently. The project is currently estimated to cost between $800,000 and $1.4 million. If all goes well and the deer kill is carried out without a hitch, then the park could be reopened for public use later in the year.
Read the full story at The New York Times.
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