Last week the District of Invermere was handed a B.C. Supreme Court injunction to delay its planned deer cull until Feb. 24.

The injunction, filed by the ‘Invermere Deer Protection Agency’ and Shane Suman, as a result of a civil lawsuit they filed.

“There are a total of 14 people who have signed affidavits and are claiming that they have suffered nuisance and physical symptoms due to the District of Invermere decision to ask the province for a permit to cull deer, and then later hiring the contractor to fulfill the requirements of the provincial permit,” Taft told e-KNOW.

“They have requested and have been granted an interim injunction preventing the District of Invermere from beginning the planned and approved cull. The injunction came just as we were about to begin the first night of the cull. The issue is now with our lawyers, and the District of Invermere is exploring all legal options,” he explained.

Taft said he is uncertain about how the injunction will result in a positive outcome for the district.

“At this point we are waiting to see what our lawyers advise us, and find out how soon we can go to court,” he said, adding, “There have been suggestions from this group to other media that they are ‘willing to work with/together’ but to date this offer has not been extended to the District of Invermere council. And suing the municipality is, from my perspective, not a sign that you want together – so it is my opinion that the suggestion of working together is nothing more than a public relations ploy.”

Late last year the district received a provincial government permit to cull 100 urban deer. The work was supposed to proceed last week after the City of Kimberley completed its own 100 deer cull. The City of Cranbrook was first out of the blocks in the culling department, finishing a 25-animal cull in the fall of 2011.

The District of Grand Forks, City of Penticton and possibly the City of Williams Lake are also all looking at culls.

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

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