CRD's Deer Cull Citizens' Advisory Group

As soon as it was convened, the CRD's Citizens' Advisory Group on a proposed deer cull lost all credibility. It was widely recognized as stacked against the deer the members were supposed to discuss. Any advice it gives will be tainted, and rejected by the public. Anti-cull folks will not go away. A program of public slaughter of innocent animals will continue to be resisted by anyone of a non-violent disposition.

In what way was it stacked? First of all, two spaces were reserved for First Nations members. (Were there any other raced-based appointments? Is that even legal under the Charter??) Then three spaces were reserved for farmers, who had already asked for a cull, and then most bizarrely of all, an advocate for bow hunting sports was appointed! Meanwhile, anyone who had expressed interest in finding a non-cull solution to deer problems, was systematically excluded.

Some of the latter have sat in on the committee's first meetings however, and have heard that no one actually knows how many deer live in the CRD, or how much revenue any farmer has actually lost due to deer. "I was nearly in disbelief that our hard earned tax dollar is being wasted on these kinds of meetings," says one. "Most of the members were not speaking loud and clear in order for the public to actually hear what was being said ... the average Victoria resident has no idea what is going on behind their backs, until it may be too late."

Someone on the committee even suggested deer were a threat to songbird habitat! (How on earth did deer and birds manage to co-exist in forests around the world for hundreds of millenia??) Development and pavement-creep are the threat to songbird habitat. Why doesn't the CRD appoint a citizens' advisory committee about that?