Longueuil deer saga takes another turn as case goes back to court, again

There has been yet another twist in the legal saga over the deer population in Longueuil's Michel-Chartrand Park.

The court has agreed Tuesday to hear an appeal from Montreal's SPCA and Sauvetage Animal Rescue, an animal rescue group. 

The case centres on the question of what to do with the deer, who have outgrown their area and are wreaking ecological havoc on one of the city's largest public parks. 

The size of the herd has tripled since 2017, reaching roughly 100 in number in a space that is roughly two square kilometres. That amounts to enough green space to accommodate a maximum of 15 deer, court documents say.

However, plans to cull the deer were met with widespread protests. Over the summer, an online petition calling for the deer to be sterilized, treated and relocated garnered more than 2,700 signatures.

The SPCA and Sauvetage argued in the application to appeal that the animals could be relocated, instead of killed.

Sophie Gaillard, the director of Animal Advocacy and Legal Affairs at the SPCA, said the "harmful" killing of the wild animals wasn't socially acceptable.

"When we look at what is being done elsewhere, we see that responsible, ethical and innovative wildlife management, based on science and supported by expert opinion, is possible," she wrote in a statement to Radio-Canada.

Previous proposals to move the deer were rejected by a veterinary ethics committee, which found too many red flags, including concerns that the animals would panic and hurt themselves and those carrying out the operation.

The hearing in the Court of Appeal is set for Nov. 25.

The appeal has indefinitely delayed an authorized crossbow hunt in the area, set to take place this fall to thin the herd.