Parks Canada defends $10,000 per deer expense on Sydney Island

https://thecountersignal.com/parks-canada-defends-10000-per-deer-expense-on-sydney-island/

Parks Canada defends the 10k per deer expense, says Canadian hunters not qualified.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has defended the price tag of $10,000 per kill in Parks Canada’s eradication of fallow deer on BC’s Sydney Island, saying Canadian hunters aren’t skilled enough to do the job safely or effectively.

Documents from an order paper question reveal Guilbeault stating that Parks Canada has spent just under $800,000 in 2023 in its eradication project, where non-native fallow deer from Europe have trampled the local ecosystem on the island that’s home to just 50 residents.

To date, the eradication team contracted out by Parks Canada to Coastal Conservation has killed 84 deer, meaning that the 2023 cost per deer has been roughly $10,000 per.

Moreover, while $800,000 was spent in 2023, Parks Canada gave a $5.4 million contract to Coastal Conservation to complete the project between 2022 – 2025.

The Climate Change Minister stated that there are somewhere between 300 – 900 deer remaining on the island.