Recent news articles mention the Cranbrook deer cull, which is modelled after the Helena, Mont., ongoing slaughter of their urban deer.
To set the record straight, clovertrap or boltgun killing of deer is not euthanasia — a kind death. No one who has ever loved an animal would consider this a kind death.
This is the cruel act of baiting and trapping an innocent wild creature, caged throughout the night, cold and terrified — in the predawn hours approached by humans, restrained by collapsed netting and the weight of its killers, thrashing and crying in terror as a four-inch steel spike is driven into its brain.
This brutality is denounced by respected wildlife scientists, veterinarians and the Humane Society of the United States. See www.netandboltcruelty.net.
The cull being considered by the Capital Regional District cannot be justified. Reasons being reported are based on poor science, falsehoods and exaggerations. There are effective non-lethal solutions for every deer “problem” in our city.
At a time of fiscal restraint and with less than one per cent of Victorians calling for a cull, it is time for caring and concerned residents who have a heart for our wildlife to let the CRD and co-operating municipalities know that slaughter of our urban deer is senseless and unjustifiable.
Sheila Carroll
Langford