Letter to the Editor

I am a Director of Animal Alliance of Canada and I am writing for three reasons.

The first is to clarify our long involvement in the discussion of deer culls in Cranbrook. The second is to explain how our position to support the relocation project came about. The third is to address the issues of the fawns in the traps.

History of our involvement in deer culls in Cranbrook:

Our organization has appeared before council on this issue in previous years. We have communicated with previous councillors and met with the previous mayor. I came to Cranbrook during one cull to verify the claims by the ministry and the city: that the animals, when trapped, experience little or no stress because they simply lie down until the cull contractor arrives; that killing with the bolt was quick and painless; and the bleed-out was done immediately after. The ministry staff had no problem with my request to attend the cull but the city, the permit holder, said no.

How support for the relocation came about:

We offered our assistance with non-lethal approaches to resolving human deer conflicts.  We produced a paper that focused on non-lethal alternatives and distributed it to the communities that were culling. We supported the one-day hazing trial in Kimberley.

When we were asked if we would give financial support for the proposed relocation program, our board agreed. It was our understanding at the time that any community involved in the relocation project would not be culling.

Secret cull exposed:

Then in the late fall 2015, I learned that Cranbrook had received a permit and would proceed with a cull. At that time I contacted all the municipalities involved in the relocation project and learned that Kimberley and Elkford would not be culling and that Invermere would. I received no call back from Cranbrook.

As part of the BC Deer Protection Society, I recommended that we notify the residents of Cranbrook about a potential cull. We took out a full-page ad the Cranbrook Townsman and still no comment from council.

In addition, I discovered that other partners in the relocation project had not been notified of Cranbrook’s decision to cull and some only learned when the video footage of the fawn in the trap was released.

I urge you not to demonize the messenger but ask yourself if this cull is as humane as you claim, how it was possible to document violations of the city’s permit on two separate occasions?

Instead of making statements about those who provided the documentation and questioned the humaneness, I urge you to consider making the following recommendations:

– That the treatment of these animals was unacceptable;

– That the city will investigate its  role as the permit holder, responsible for enforcing the conditions of the permit; and

– That you seek a joint investigation of the matter with the responsible ministry.

I have attached a description of the incidents that occurred in the week of January 4, 2016.

Two incidents documented during the Cranbrook deer cull taken during the week of January 4.

Incident No. 1:  Footage for one incident shows a fawn captured in a trap (unedited video documents the fawn pacing for over two hours). The cull contactors arrive, collapsing the trap on the animal and applying the bolt gun.  The cull contractors stand and the fawn moves.  They apply the bolt gun a second time.  The fawn moves again as the contractors try to erect the trap.  They drop it and observe the fawn.   One contractor starts to reach for the bolt gun but stops.  They proceed again to erect the trap and all three legs are seen kicking as the one contractor drags the fawn away by the hind leg.  The cull contractor returns immediately leaving the fawn still alive and unattended (bcdeer.org).  A total of six minutes passed between the arrival of the contractors and the removal of the deer.  It is unclear whether the fawn was bled out immediately given the short length of time it took for the contractors to proceed to the next site.

Incident No. 2:  Photographs from a second incident show two fawns entangled in a trap that has collapsed on them.  They remain entangled and compressed for at least two hours prior to the arrival of the cull contractors.  It is not known at this time whether the fawns’ struggle was so violent as to dislodge the mechanism holding the trap upright or whether the mechanism was faulty.  Regardless, no one checked the trap during that two hour period to end the suffering of these two animals. (bcdeer.org)

Liz White, Director

Animal Alliance of Canada

Toronto, Ontario

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