Cull delayed for community under siege by deer.
Photograph by: Handout, PNG
A
planned deer cull in the District of Invermere, set to start Thursday,
has been suspended after a local animal rights group won a temporary
injunction in B.C. Supreme Court.
Devin Kazakoff, president of the Invermere Deer Protection Organization, said his group formed in January after the district succeeded in getting a permit in December to cull 100 animals from its urban deer population of 175. Many in the community feel the animals are out of control, posing safety hazards and causing nuisance to residents.
But Kazakoff said his group of about 100 is pushing for an alternative solution. “We believe in a non-lethal solution — an injection to prevent them from having babies for six to eight years. The cost is higher for contraception, double [the cost of doing a cull] but we believe it will save money down the road since they won’t have to do a cull every year.” The injunction will postpone the cull until Feb. 25 but Kazakoff said his group is willing to continue the legal challenge to stop it altogether. He added the injunction was granted on the grounds the district had moved too quickly toward the cull, without adequately consulting the public.
But Invermere Mayor Gerry Taft said Monday his council has done a year and a half of work and set up a citizens’ committee to find a solution to deal with complaints about aggressive deer, looking at options such as “relocation, fencing, birth control and hazing with dogs.” Last August, the committee reported back with a recommendation to proceed with the cull and continue to investigate alternative means to deal with the problem in the future. Taft said city council has received complaints about deer eating residents’ gardens but that wasn’t the reason they want to go ahead with the cull.
“The reason is public safety. We’ve had complaints of people and dogs being charged at by deer. We’ve had situations of people afraid to leave home.”
Taft said his council was disappointed the injunction was granted, “especially at the last minute.”
“We’re trying to get into court to overturn the injunction and defend the lawsuit where 14 people are making a claim they have suffered emotional pain at the thought of the deer cull,” he said.
Invermere would have been the third B.C. community to act on its permit from the province to cull deer this winter.
To date, Cranbrook has culled 25 deer and Kimberley culled 100 this fall.
Grand Forks and Penticton were also considering a cull but so far no applications from those communities have been received, said Brennan Clarke, spokesman for the provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
Grand Forks Mayor Brian Taylor said his community had been contemplating a cull, but it is now undecided and doesn’t plan to apply for a permit this year.
“The road ahead for us is we’d like to be a model community and find ways to live in harmony with deer instead of doing a short-term cull.”
He estimates there are about 300 deer within the district and many residents are “past their tolerance level” with them.
“What’s alarming is some people are acting as vigilantes and using pellet guns to shoot them. There are deer everywhere. People are living in armed camps with fences erected. It’s a battleground out there for their garden.”
kpemberton@vancouversun.com
Devin Kazakoff, president of the Invermere Deer Protection Organization, said his group formed in January after the district succeeded in getting a permit in December to cull 100 animals from its urban deer population of 175. Many in the community feel the animals are out of control, posing safety hazards and causing nuisance to residents.
But Kazakoff said his group of about 100 is pushing for an alternative solution. “We believe in a non-lethal solution — an injection to prevent them from having babies for six to eight years. The cost is higher for contraception, double [the cost of doing a cull] but we believe it will save money down the road since they won’t have to do a cull every year.” The injunction will postpone the cull until Feb. 25 but Kazakoff said his group is willing to continue the legal challenge to stop it altogether. He added the injunction was granted on the grounds the district had moved too quickly toward the cull, without adequately consulting the public.
But Invermere Mayor Gerry Taft said Monday his council has done a year and a half of work and set up a citizens’ committee to find a solution to deal with complaints about aggressive deer, looking at options such as “relocation, fencing, birth control and hazing with dogs.” Last August, the committee reported back with a recommendation to proceed with the cull and continue to investigate alternative means to deal with the problem in the future. Taft said city council has received complaints about deer eating residents’ gardens but that wasn’t the reason they want to go ahead with the cull.
“The reason is public safety. We’ve had complaints of people and dogs being charged at by deer. We’ve had situations of people afraid to leave home.”
Taft said his council was disappointed the injunction was granted, “especially at the last minute.”
“We’re trying to get into court to overturn the injunction and defend the lawsuit where 14 people are making a claim they have suffered emotional pain at the thought of the deer cull,” he said.
Invermere would have been the third B.C. community to act on its permit from the province to cull deer this winter.
To date, Cranbrook has culled 25 deer and Kimberley culled 100 this fall.
Grand Forks and Penticton were also considering a cull but so far no applications from those communities have been received, said Brennan Clarke, spokesman for the provincial Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
Grand Forks Mayor Brian Taylor said his community had been contemplating a cull, but it is now undecided and doesn’t plan to apply for a permit this year.
“The road ahead for us is we’d like to be a model community and find ways to live in harmony with deer instead of doing a short-term cull.”
He estimates there are about 300 deer within the district and many residents are “past their tolerance level” with them.
“What’s alarming is some people are acting as vigilantes and using pellet guns to shoot them. There are deer everywhere. People are living in armed camps with fences erected. It’s a battleground out there for their garden.”
kpemberton@vancouversun.com
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