Montreal-area city gets permit to go ahead with deer cull in local park – Montreal [Video]

A Montreal suburb has received a provincial Environment Department permit to go ahead with a long-awaited white-tailed deer cull in a local park that has become overrun with them.

The City of Longueuil, just south of Montreal, has been trying to carry out a cull since 2020, but faced strong backlash and legal challenges from animal rights groups.

The permit is valid until mid-February 2025 and the city says in a statement the operation will be carried out by a professional company using air rifles.

The city says the cull is needed to restore ecological equilibrium to the green space as the number of white-tailed deer in Michel-Chartrand park has tripled in recent years — from 32 in 2017 to 114 as of this year.

Authorities have also noted the number of …