Federal park managers are proposing to allow a deer cull at the historic quarantine station of Grosse Ile, Que., saying an overpopulation of white-tailed deer is threatening rare vegetation and raising safety concerns on the small island.Blacklock's Reporter says Parks Canada disclosed the plan in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement that would amend rules under the Canada National Parks Act to lift a long-standing prohibition on hunting at Grosse Ile and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site. Officials say licensed culls could be used to reduce the herd.“The presence of white-tailed deer on the island represents a threat to rare plants that are destroyed by grazing and trampling,” the agency wrote. “This heavy concentration of deer in a small territory also raises questions about public safety.”The island, located in the St. Lawrence River northeast of Québec City, currently has an estimated population of about 95 deer living within its 1.8-kilometre territory. Parks officials said the high concentration is damaging fragile ecosystems while also threatening the animals themselves as food sources become scarce.“The overabundance of the white-tailed deer population whose health is threatened by lack of food is an obstacle to maintaining ecological integrity and landscapes on the island,” managers wrote in the proposal. .No timeline has been set for implementing the change.The plan is drawing attention because of the island’s historic significance. Grosse Ile served as a quarantine station beginning in 1832 and became infamous during the Irish famine of 1847 when thousands of emigrants arrived aboard overcrowded transatlantic vessels known as “coffin ships.”Many of those fleeing the famine died before reaching their destination or shortly after arriving in Canada. The site contains mass graves of famine victims and has long been considered a place of remembrance by descendants and Irish cultural groups.“It was the theatre for a major human drama,” Parks Canada wrote in a 2017 management plan describing the site’s legacy.Victor Boyle, national president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians Canada, previously described the island as a deeply significant memorial for Irish Canadians.“That island is a sacred site,” Boyle said. “I make pilgrimages to our Celtic Cross on Grosse Ile. I have taken schoolchildren, all expenses paid.”.Historical research commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Irish famine estimated that roughly one sixth of emigrants attempting to reach Québec City during the crisis died along the way. A 1997 federal report titled Grosse Ile: A Record Of Daily Events estimated that 17,477 of the 98,649 emigrants who boarded ships bound for Québec perished before reaching their final destination.Many were buried on the island itself. Records suggest around 5,000 victims of the famine were interred at Grosse Ile, often in mass graves due to the high daily death toll during the epidemic outbreaks that accompanied the migration.The report noted that because of the rapid mortality rate, bodies were frequently buried in large rectangular trenches, sometimes stacked in rows within wooden coffins. Names recorded among the dead included families such as Ford, Quigley, Fitzpatrick, O’Brien, Connor, Brennan and Kelly.
