Cranbrook still culling deer despite relocation program, activists say
WARNING: A GRAPHIC VIDEO OF A DEER BEING KILLED IS INCLUDED IN THIS STORY
B.C. animal rights activists allege that as Cranbrook prepares to relocate problem urban deer, it's still killing them.
The British Columbia Deer Protection Society says it has obtained a video showing what it calls the "inhumane" killing of a deer trapped in a net in Cranbrook.
The group said the video was shot last week without the knowledge of the city or the two contractors who were hired to cull urban deer.
In the video, a small deer is seen pacing in a trap at night. Two men then arrive and collapse the trap on the animal and stun it, twice, with a bolt gun.
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The deer is then dragged away, and it appears to be still kicking.
"The deer has been stressed and tortured in a trap all night just like we have been saying," said Devin Kazakoff of the Deer Protection Society.
"And then [it's] not humanely dispatched — the bolt has to be applied, in this particular video, two times and the deer is still kicking as it is being dragged out of the trap".
Kazakoff and the Animal Alliance of Canada are calling on the B.C. government to review the City of Cranbrook's deer cull permit in light of the video, which they have posted on Youtube and their websites.
"The permit is quite clear about what is considered humane and that certainly doesn't cut it," says Liz White, the founder of the Animal Alliance.
Deer relocation program starting soon
The Alliance has been a long-time critic of the four municipalities that cull urban deer in the Kootenays: Cranbrook, Kimberley, Invermere and Elkford.
Those four communities are taking part in a pilot project to relocate problem deer this winter or spring. White's organization is donating $10,000 dollars to help pay for the relocations.
"Now I don't want one single penny of that to go to Cranbrook," said White. "This has been done in secret. Behind closed doors. Even the good residents of Cranbrook had no idea that this cull was going on."
The City of Cranbrook said it doesn't want to comment on the video or allegations of the animal rights organizations.
In an email to CBC. city spokesperson Chris Zettel wrote, "We will not be engaging in any discussion or debate around the issue of urban deer with the Animal Alliance of Canada through the media."