On a small Island off the coast of Vancouver Island, Parks Canada is seeking to once again hold an unjustifiable and inhumane eradication of fallow deer with aerial gunning from helicopters and harassment by dogs.
Sidney Island is part of a chain of Islands that make up the Gulf Islands National Park. It is also partly private property with approximately 100 lots overseen by a strata corporation.
Fallow deer were initially introduced to Sidney Island back in 1908 for hunting purposes. With minimal predators on the Island, the population grew to approximately 3000 deer in in the early 2000’s. At that time, approximately 2000 deer were killed and recent estimates by local residents suggests the population currently is around 300. While damage to the ecosystem was present with the peak population, a UBC report from five years ago shows a 30% improvement to the ecosystem since. There is no evidence to support Parks Canada’s assertion that the ecosystem is currently not continuing to regenerate and that the current population of deer is not sustainable.
Regardless of a lack of evidence and data to support eradication, and no current scientific count, Parks Canada has pushed forward an agenda to exterminate fallow deer from Sidney Island. This includes spending $5.9 million dollars to hire contractors, Coastal Conservation, to kill the deer from helicopters and hunting on the ground with dogs. This is very similar to the $6 million spent in 2018 to eradicate deer from Haida Gwaii with aerial sharpshooters from New Zealand.AAC West Coast Campaign Director, Jordan Reichert, said the eradication program is unethical, unjustified, and absurdly expensive. “Without even doing a scientific count, Parks Canada has claimed there are too many deer on Sidney Island to maintain its ecology and are proceeding with a $6 million eradication program that sounds more like a blockbuster film plot than good policy. We strongly oppose the eradication program and will work to hold them accountable.”
Thanks to a small group of concerned and compassionate landowners who started the Sidney Island Deer Management Society on Sidney Island, Parks Canada, Coastal Conservation, and the strata corporation have been exposed for promoting this unjustifiable and inhumane killing. There are also serious concerns mentioned by Parks Canada staff, obtained through FOI requests, of a “conflict-of-interest” in how the contract has been awarded and the spurious justification for eradication that we are currently investigating.
They need our help now to hold these public and private bodies accountable for the suffering and slaughter Parks Canada are spending $6 million dollars of tax-payers money to support.
Learn more about the problem with the Sidney Island eradication plan here.