There was another deer cull in Longueuil on Tuesday, and there is another scheduled in Montreal’s east end in the coming days. The exact date, however, is confidential, the city says. As in the past, eliminating deer from city parks comes with controversy. The vast Pointe-aux-Prairies Park in the city’s east end is a hotspot for deer on the island, and Longueuil’s Michel-Chartrand Park is closed until further notice for its second deer cull since 2024. A City of Longueuil spokesperson says a recent count found the number of deer still exceeds Quebec’s Environment Ministry’s recommendation, which is 5 deer per square kilometre. Wildlife biologist David Bird says culls are not a one-time option. “It’s not an easy solution because unless you keep doing it, it likely won’t work,” said the McGill University wildlife biology professor. He said deer are attracted by plentiful vegetation and have no natural predators. Overpopulation can cause road collisions, damage biodiversity and spread ticks, which can carry Lyme and other diseases. While no one disputes the problem, opponents of the cull say the city should look at other ways to deal with it, such as birth control. “Once again, we have many methods that are not costly at all to protect those animals clever enough to survive in urban environments, and yet we don’t deploy them,” said lawyer Anne-France Goldwater. Culls are conducted by sharpshooters, and the deer meat is donated. Bird said there are no good options, but doing nothing will only make matters worse. “As long as it’s being done safely and the meat is being used properly, then I think people are just going to have to hold their noses and let this happen, but it’s going to have to happen, in more than one year,” he said. Bird said culls are events cities and residents have to get used to.
