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/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.
Jack Schrier, former fish and game council member in New Jersey has stated, “Net and bolt is barbaric. It works in slaughterhouses only because the animals are limited to a single-file lane, restrained and unable to wriggle or struggle. In the field it is impossible – impossible – to have the poor creatures hold still long enough for the bolt to be accurately used. There are too many cases of misses and try-try again. Humane it is not. Certain it is not. Swift it is not. Horrible it certainly is.”
The cull being considered by the CRD 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 few 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 cooperating municipalities know that slaughter of our urban deer is senseless and unjustifiable.
Sheila Carroll
Langford