Cranbrook charges ahead with deer cull, despite unresolved legal challenge

CRANBROOK, — Cranbrook is pushing forward with plans to cull up to 30 mule deer roaming the city, despite pledging last year to hold off from any killings until a B.C. Supreme Court legal challenge is settled.

The city announced Thursday that council made the decision “after much careful deliberation,” reads a statement from corporate communications officer Chris Zettel.
“Due to concerns around public safety raised both by the RCMP and council, the city will not at this time be providing any additional details surrounding the population reduction activities.”
The trapping will occur in “several key areas of the community,” based on complaints received by both the city and the Conservation Officer Service, Zettel said.
Cranbrook was granted permission to carry out the cull by the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations in late 2012.
But with a court case underway in a nearby city, opposition from animal advocates and the possibility the wrong deer were being killed, the city had been refraining from further action.
The city would not provide details on when or where the cull will occur, while council and other staff refused to answer questions from the media.
A day before the announcement, the B.C. Deer Protection Coalition took out a full-page advertisement in the city’s local newspaper asking “Will Cranbrook kill deer this winter? Rumour says yes.”
Cranbrook was the first of three East Kootenay communities to carry out a cull with a provincial licence.
Kimberley, B.C., culled 100 deer in January 2012, while Invermere was set to cull 100 deer in February 2012 before a court injunction put a hold on the plans.
Cranbrook Daily Townsman