The Canadian government has authorized private contractors to slaughter European fallow deer with AR-15s effective December 1 on Sidney Island in British Columbia. “Coastal Conservation and its contractor, White Buffalo, will use restricted semi-automatic assault-style rifles to dispatch the deer,” said Parks Canada access to information and privacy request applicant Paul Lalonde in a Thursday blog post. “And they will be equipped with suppressors or silencers, using .223 calibre ammunition with extended magazines holding up to 30 rounds.” Canadian hunters have been prohibited from using these guns since the 1960s because they are unsuitable for hunting, despite the protests of gun owners. Like licenced firearms owners, the Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA) said these deer are deemed undesirable. Unlike licensed firearms owners, the CSSA said they are slated to be killed by semi-automatic assault-style rifles wielded by government sharpshooters in helicopters. At a cost to taxpayers of $5.9 million, Parks Canada said these sharpshooters will pepper a ton of shots in a hurry in deers' direction to ensure they kill them once they are spotted from the air. If Parks Canada is going to spend $5.9 million to cull deer, the CSSA acknowledged it should at least bring rifles suitable for hunting by federal government standards. In this year’s shortened hunting season from October 15 to November 16, private hunters harvested 50 fallow deer using 70 bullets at zero cost to Canadians. Lalonde said Parks Canada asked for and received special permission to use prohibited semi-automatic guns and helicopters to shoot deer from the air from the RCMP and Transport Canada. “Heavy semi-automatic fire from helicopters, suppressed or not, is not appropriate in a year-round populated island,” said Lalonde. If the air war against the deer is not enough, Parks Canada identified boats they would make available to contractors so they could shoot deer from the water as close as 25 metres from residents. It said there was a caveat. “We are not currently expecting to dispatch from boats during Phase One unless the need arises,” it said. It did not state what need could arise that would trigger using waterborne sharpshooters to eliminate deer. The CSSA said a quote from British author George Orwell rings true. This Orwell quote is "some pigs are more equal than others." While government-sanctioned sharpshooters can fire streams of bullets from an AR-15 rifle into deer from a helicopter, it said licenced firearms owners cannot take their semi-automatic guns to the shooting range for target practice. The CSSA concluded by saying it does not have to make sense. It is government policy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in 2020 Canada would restrict 1,500 makes and models of assault-style rifles. Licenced gun owners would be barred from selling, transporting, importing or using semi-automatic guns. There was a two-year amnesty period imposed at the time to ensure people followed the ban. People were encouraged to turn in their guns. The Canadian government lengthened the grace period for its semi-automatic gun ban from October 30 this year to October 30, 2025 on October 11. READ MORE: Canadian government extends gun grab amnesty period until 2025“The extension of the Order will ensure affected firearm owners and businesses continue to be protected from criminal liability for unlawful possession while they come into compliance with the law, including having the opportunity to take part in the buyback program,” said Public Safety Canada (PSC). The PSC said Canadians should feel safe in their communities. That is why the Canadian government has been addressing gun violence with a plan that includes expanding firearms legislation and regulations, spending money on law enforcement and border operations and providing funding for communities to tackle the root causes of violence.
