The 35 kilometres of netting used to partition Sidney Island into kill zones for Parks Canada’s fallow-deer eradication project are being removed from the island.
The strategy to use aquaculture netting to herd the deer backfired this month after at least six of the animals became entangled and either died or had to be euthanized. In some cases, Sidney Island residents risked injury trying to free the animals.
Parks Canada announced it was halting Phase 2 of a planned kill on Nov. 5, citing “the lack of effectiveness of the netting installed to herd the deer, causing a lower probability of a successful outcome.”
In a brief statement on Tuesday, Parks Canada said its project partners, which include the BC SPCA and WSANEC First Nations, are now considering “alternative strategies” to support the ongoing recovery of the forest ecosystem on Sidney Island.
“Completing this process with care and respect will take time,” said the statement. “For now, the netting is being dismantled and removed from the island.”
Parks Canada said no further decisions have been made, and no information will be made available until after the partners have had time to consider alternatives.
The $12-million project over eight years to restore the ecosystem and rid the island of introduced fallow deer has been controversial for its hefty price tag — and for its use of foreign sharpshooters to kill the deer when annual hunts by residents and others are believed to have already drastically reduced the herds.
The federal agency did not answer specific questions on whether the hunt would resume with residents and First Nations, or if there would be an official count of the number of deer now living on the Island.
An official census of the deer on Sidney Island has never been undertaken, with Parks Canada estimating the number at one point to be 900 while residents say it’s fewer than 100.
In the first phase of the kill in late December 2023, deer were shot from a helicopter by New Zealand and U.S.-based contract sharpshooters during the day and on the ground at night. A total of 84 deer were killed, including 18 native black-tail deer, in the $800,000 effort, which took place over 11 days.
Parks Canada’s forecast spending of $11.988 million on the restoration of Sidney Island is spread over eight years, according to its Fur to Forest budget, which was obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation through an access-to-information request.
It details costs between 2018 and 2026 that include $2.8 million in salaries and benefits to Parks Canada staff, $1.5 million in studies, $800,000 for Indigenous participation, $3.3 million in miscellaneous expenses — including $53,000 for forest restoration services and plants and trees — and $4.1 million for deer eradication.
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