A deer cull will begin Monday at Point Pelee National Park where there are an estimated 100 to 130 deer.
“We are well above what the park should have,” new park superintendent Karen Linauskas said Thursday of the target population of 25 to 35 deer.
A helicopter count could be held Friday to confirm the number but the cull will start Monday even if weather does not allow the aerial count, she said.
Parks Canada, in partnership with Caldwell First Nation, would be holding a cull from Jan. 12 to 23. The park will be open to the public on weekends but will be closed on weekdays when culling is taking place.
As in 2009, the last time a cull was held, Caldwell members will do the shooting and use all the meat and hides, she said.
“Our research is showing that deer over-browsing has a really negative impact on our forests as well as on our savannah ecosystems,”Linauskas said.
The park wants to move towards more regular and smaller culls. The park’s preferred herd size of 25 to 35 animals is based on about six to eight deer per square kilometre of land.
“For the next few years we’ll focus on getting the number down to a level that is closer to our target.”
Since 1991, Parks Canada has held eight culls at Point Pelee National Park. In 2009, 22 deer were shot in the cull.
Linauskas became superintendent in September.
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