Sidney Island residents disturbed as deer entanglements, deaths mount through eradication project

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Sidney Island residents disturbed as deer entanglements, deaths mount through eradication project​

Residents on Sidney Island are disturbed as the current phase of Parks Canada’s controversial project to eradicate invasive fallow deer had led to a number of entangled and dead deer.

Over the weekend, Sidney Island resident Wendy Ord says she was called after another Islander found a deer tangled in a netted fence put up by Parks Canada.

A video sent to CHEK News shows the deer struggling to free itself from the netting.

“It was very distressful to see an animal in such panic,” Ord said.

“It’s head was completely enveloped in the netting and it was prone on the ground so it was very lucky for this deer that he was spotted.”

The video later shows multiple residents working to calm the deer while they cut away the netting. Once free, the deer ran away.

The 35 kilometres of netted fencing was installed by Parks Canada in July to hold the invasive species on the island before crews could start phase two of the project to kill off the fallow deer.

“We only have a nine-square-kilometre island, there are 35 kilometres of netting and more deer have been caught prior to that and since that,” Ord said.

She added one of her friends found another deer entangled in the netting on Wednesday, unfortunately that one had died.
Parks Canada monitoring entanglements

According to Parks Canada, five deer have gotten tangled in the netting since it was installed, four of which were over the past week.

It added two of the deer were found dead, both showing signs of a cougar attack.

Island resident Carla Purves said some islanders think there’s another reason why the deer are getting tangled.

“This time of year the deer are in a rut, or their mating season, so the bucks move around,” she said.

“They’re the ones that have the antlers and will shed their antlers at the end of the rut and that’s why they are getting caught in this fencing.”

Both Purves and Ord said to protect the deer, the netting should be removed bucks are moving around so much.

“I don’t understand why the SPCA has condoned this project,” Ord added. “This is in no way humane.”
BC SPCA recommending improvements to Sidney Island deer project

The government had consulted with the BC SPCA ahead of it’s eradication plan.

In light of these entanglements, the BC SPCA told CHEK News it is asking questions about the incidents and recommending improvements to Parks Canada for their procedures.

“We have provided extensive feedback on operational plans, including that all fencing be checked daily, which Parks Canada has confirmed is the protocol,” the statement read.

The BC SPCA added any netted fencing that is put up is supposed to be tight while installed.

“We are asking for more information on the methods used to erect the fencing and how visibility can be improved to prevent similar incidents from happening again. We have also asked for clarification of what happened in this instance and why so much of the fencing was on the ground, as shown in the video,” it said.

Parks Canada confirmed it is investigating these incidents and taking action to prevent future occurrences.

The goal of the eradication project, which started Dec. 2023, is to kill off the invasive deer in order to restore the island’s native plants.

Project subject of prior controversies

The project has faced a number of controversies.

Concerned citizens have held protests over the $12 million cost of the project, as well as the way the eradication was being done.

The initial phase of the project saw sharpshooters from the U.S.A. and New Zealand kill the animals from helicopters during the day and the ground at night.

Over the 11 day kill only 84 deer were killed, including 18 native black tail deer.

Purves said this disgusts her “and a lot of other owners I think.”

The final phase of the project is scheduled to start Nov. 15.

Hunters are expected to be on the ground until late April.

https://cheknews.ca/sidney-island-r...hs-mount-through-eradication-project-1222030/
 
Who exactly thinks there are too many deer? Most articles I see have a resident complaining abut how this is proceeding and/or the dead deer.
Uh, the purpose of the exercise is to get rid of the deer that someone thinks are overpopulated or at least not native? Make up your minds.
 
these parks canada offcials need to be named and publicly shamed.
Who hired these pcychophants?
It truly disturbs me what is going on at Sidney Island. It was, many years ago , the only hunt I have done in the Vancouver Island region. I was a hunting newbie at the time but it was a pretty cool area to hunt. I think the area residents are really missing out on an opportunity to engage with the BC hunting public, set up a system that works for local residents and has a funding model that is good for thier community.

Somebody out there with awfully big shoes and a whole lot of influence is behind all this and I want to know who that is.
In the meantime..... Parks Canada and the officials in charge of this culling operation as a whole, need to be indentified, outed and shamed in the public space.
What they are doing is wrong on so many levels and it's time it not be tolerated.
 
Donny Fenn1 said:
Who exactly thinks there are too many deer? Most articles I see have a resident complaining abut how this is proceeding and/or the dead deer.
Uh, the purpose of the exercise is to get rid of the deer that someone thinks are overpopulated or at least not native? Make up your minds.
Click to expand...
The residents/Parks Canada. The residents ultimately voted to have them eradicated. It was a narrow margin, like 53% in favor, which IMO is too narrow to go ahead with the project... But they had majority support.

When 47% of the island are against the cull it is expected that there would be vocal opponents. I doubt many people on the Pro-cull side of things wants their name in the papers.
 
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Snow Flakes, you can't appease them any which way you try.....
I remember when the Island was bought by a Logging Company the owner was an avid hunter too btw.
After harvesting the merchantable timber he decided to sell off parcels of land under a HOA with board of directors and such.
5 acre parcels sold along the shore line and the key benefit was the seclusion and a private hunting reserve for the residents/owners.
Years went by, the initial investor and major share holder died in an auto accident.
Things went down hill from there to where it is today.
Millionaire Snow Flakes demanding the citizens of BC pay for the eradication of Fallow Deer and the invasive American Bull Frog.
FFS , one couldn't make this schit up without the assistance of Ai !
Regards,
Rob
 
FLHTCUI said:
Millionaire Snow Flakes demanding the citizens of BC pay for the eradication of Fallow Deer and the invasive American Bull Frog.
Click to expand...
citizens of Canada

Pictures of suffering or dead deer hanging from a net isn't posted all over the big cities news cycle. Wonder why?
 
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I'd love to know how X number of tons of Fallow Deer biomass has a different effect than X number of tons of Blacktail biomass.
 
A diamond driller I know lived on Gabriola Island. His hippy neighbors were pissed when he killed a little deer in his garden with a .22 mag.

He did not give a 5hit :).
 
geologist said:
A diamond driller I know lived on Gabriola Island. His hippy neighbors were pissed when he killed a little deer in his garden with a .22 mag.

He did not give a 5hit :).
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Shotgun only over there. The old timers used to plink them in their gardens at night years ago. The place is ruined now. Paradise until it was discovered by city folks.
 
reggie dunlop said:
Shotgun only over there. The old timers used to plink them in their gardens at night years ago. The place is ruined now. Paradise until it was discovered by city folks.
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He said there were lots of illegal pot growers there who did not welcome newcomers and that the RCMP were not on the island 24/7.

He lives in Mexico now.

He couldn't stand the hippies........
 
geologist said:
He said there were lots of illegal pot growers there who did not welcome newcomers and that the RCMP were not on the island 24/7.

He lives in Mexico now.

He couldn't stand the hippies........
Click to expand...
That must have been a long time ago. The police only used to stay there in the summers before they had a permanent detachment. Tons of hippies back then, lots of draft dodgers too, some who stayed on after the war. The hippies generally didn't frequent the pubs or clash too much with the old timers. It was quite the place back then. Bunch of old brain dead pot heads now.
 
reggie dunlop said:
That must have been a long time ago. The police only used to stay there in the summers before they had a permanent detachment. Tons of hippies back then, lots of draft dodgers too, some who stayed on after the war. The hippies generally didn't frequent the pubs or clash too much with the old timers. It was quite the place back then. Bunch of old brain dead pot heads now.
Click to expand...
Would have been 1998ish.
 
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