Scientific report finds controversial urban deer culls don't work - Tax dollars wasted on costly and ineffective programs

BCDPS calls on Minister Donaldson to suspend the culls and develop evidence
based standards and non-lethal methods for effective conflict resolution programs

VICTORIA, Oct. 18, 2017 /CNW/ - In May 2016, Animal Alliance of Canada, a member of the BC Deer Protection Society (BCDPS), commissioned McCrory Wildlife Services to conduct an independent review of urban deer culls in five BC municipalities (Oak Bay, Cranbrook, Invermere, Kimberley, Elkford).

The Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development and the five municipal councils have received a copy of the 70 page report titled:

AN INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF BRITISH COLUMBIA'S URBAN DEER MANAGEMENT USING A CASE STUDY APPROACH, HOW MUCH IS SCIENCE-BASED? HOW EFFECTIVE WERE RECENT CULLS? Seeing through the thickets.

"The report is striking in its findings: lack of long term effectiveness of culls, lack of reliable data and scientific information," said Barry MacKay, Director, Animal Alliance and spokesperson, BCDPS. "The culls are about killing deer, not resolving conflicts."

"Given the significant costs to taxpayers, local and provincial governments should want a cost efficient and effective conflict resolution program" said Liz White, Director, Animal Alliance and spokesperson, BCDPS. "For example, Oak Bay spent $16,000 to kill 11 deer."

According to long-time Kootenay wildlife biologist Wayne McCrory, lead author of the report, "We found that culling either through expensive lethal methods or non-lethal translocations of deer from certain communities had some short term benefits but deer numbers rebounded fairly quickly because of their naturally good reproductive rates and from other deer simply moving in from the outside." 

According to White: "As a result of these findings, we have asked the Minister to suspend the cull program to allow for research on non-lethal methods that work over the long term and for more baseline research on urban deer population levels and trends, reproduction and survival rates, levels of mortality, and diet.  These are basic and necessary tools to develop an effective conflict resolution program."

Link to the report: https://www.animalalliance.ca/campaigns/other-campaigns/deer-in-british-columbia/

SOURCE Animal Alliance of Canada