There was an emotional exchange between those protesting the moose cull in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park and Parks Canada officials on Monday.
Thirty non-native protesters packed a Parks Canada office in Ingonish, N.S., demanding to have their voices heard about the potential to kill 35 to 40 moose on North Mountain.
“We would like your commitment to stop the hunt and reassess the numbers and have local input,” said a protester to a government spokesperson Eric Le Bell.
The moose harvest is being carried out by the Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources, leaving those living in the community feeling like outsiders.
“There's tourism issues here, there's racism issues coming because of this,” said resident Jason Dunfield. “It's starting to look bad on the community, whether you're a hunter or not.”
The hunt was halted last week after a confrontation between protesters and Mi'kmaq hunters.
“They have lots of places to hunt, but you said you needed a cull. You're putting the natives against us,” said one protestor.
Dennis Day has been leading the fight against the moose cull.
“If they want to exercise their rights to hunt, that's fine,” said Day. “If we exercise our right, that's fine too. If we decide not too, that's up to us.”
Protesters disagree with Parks Canada’s assessment of the moose as hyper-abundant throughout the park.
Le Bell says studies show the population density is about four times what it should be.
“The objective is not the moose hunt, but to restore habitat that is affected by the abundance of moose,” said Le Bell.
Parks Canada says they're not in favour of a community hall-style meeting, but say they will meet with a select few in the community this week.
For now, the moose cull remains on hold.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
