Stop Use of Culling as So-Called Conservation Measure

Target: Ron Hallman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Parks Canada

Goal: Halt plans to cull more fallow deer from Sidney Island.

From California to Scotland, controversial culls are taking place targeting supposedly invasive deer species living on nearby islands. The Canadian coast has become the latest ground zero for controversy, as the government approved a plan to kill Sidney Island’s fallow deer. At least 84 deer were recently killed by ground and by air (from helicopters) at a cost of nearly one million dollars.

This operation was approved despite prolonged protests from individuals living on the island who decried the cull’s inhumanity and questioned its need. And the results of the cull created even more outrage. Despite its proclaimed use of “highly skilled, certified marksmen,” Parks Canada (the agency overseeing the cull) reported that at least 20 percent of the deer killed were not even fallow deer but species native to the island.

Another round of killing is scheduled for next year. Sign the petition below to urge this agency to rethink a policy that is harming not only the targeted species but native inhabitants as well.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Hallman,

Whether you want to call it a cull, a removal, or an eradication, the results of the recent Sidney Island deer operation are the same: a cost approaching a million dollars, and at least a dozen native deer executed. Lethal means should always be an option of last resort, as these means defy the very idea of conservation. When the necessity is questioned, the enormous cost criticized, the animal welfare standards under scrutiny, and the collateral damage unacceptable, now is the time to reevaluate priorities and plans.

This current operation is projected to run many more millions of dollars, and the cost for innocent wildlife will likely be much higher. The price is much too great on all fronts. Please end this eradication now.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Memurubu