84 deer killed on Sidney Island in controversial eradication program

Residents of the private island voted narrowly in February to support the deer kill, which Parks Canada said is necessary to protect the island's ecosystem.

Parks Canada says 84 deer were shot and killed this month as a part of a controversial program to eradicate an invasive population from Sidney Island.

Residents of the private island voted narrowly in February to support the deer kill, which Parks Canada said is necessary to protect the island’s ecosystem. However, there has been vocal opposition from others on the island who feel the measure is not needed and could be inhumane.

In a media release Tuesday, Parks Canada said during Dec. 1 and Dec. 11, three “highly trained, certified marksmen used globally supported methods to humanely reduce the deer population” on the island.

That operation involved a mixture of ground-based hunting at night, and shooting the deer from a helicopter during the day.

“Recovery teams reported that the majority of animals were dispatched with a single shot; in the remaining cases, a second shot was taken to be certain of immediate and humane death,” Parks Canada said.

The hunters, Parks Canada and First Nations recovered about 800 kilograms of meat along with hides and other usable materials that were distributed among W̱SÁNEĆ communities.

Opponents to the deer kill have argued that island residents and hunters have successfully reduced the number of European fallow deer on the island from their peak more than a decade ago.

They have also raised concerns about the $6 million cost of the operation, safety and animal welfare.