Court injunction halts Invermere deer cull

A temporary court injunction against the District of Invermere has stopped a scheduled deer cull.

The district planned to kill up to 100 urban deer, beginning this past weekend, but on Friday the Invermere Deer Protection Organization got a interm court injunction to stop the cull.

"We didn't feel that the public was adequately consulted before they reached the decision to kill the deer," said spokesperson Devon Kazakoff.

"We believe that there's other humane methods to deal with problems in the area. The public wasn't given the proper opportunity to have their voices be heard."

Invermere mayor Gerry Taft says most people in the community support the cull and says a small, persistent, group is making the process more difficult than it needs to be.

"We are also disappointed that a small group of people in the community will cost Invermere legal fees to explore this and potentially fight this. They have been unsuccessful in winning a lot of public support or in changing the minds of council, so they have now gone the legal route," said Taft.

Taft said the district's lawyers have until Feb. 24 to if it will challenge the interim injunction.

Deer have become a nuisance in the East Kootenay, attacking pets and even people, but opposition is growing to the region's plan to cull up to 225 urban deer by the end of 2012.

Invermere is the third Kootenay community to begin killing urban deer. Cranbrook began culling deer in the fall; Kimberley conducted its cull in January.