New Brunswick pilot project serves deer for dinner
A new pilot program in southwestern New Brunswick is taking aim at the overpopulation of deer in the St. Andrews area and food insecurity amongst low-income families in the region at the same time.
The province has announced that through the new project, up to 450 kilograms of deer meat, which translates into roughly 20 animals, from the annual nuisance hunt will be processed and distributed to those in need through a local food bank.
St. Andrews mayor Brad Henderson says that it’s a program that has been in the works now for more than two years, and that all of the elements have been ‘well weighed out’ in order to help make this a reality.
“Unfortunately [St. Andrews] continues to be overpopulated. A normal community of our size has three to five deer per square kilometre and we’re seeing numbers of over 22 per square kilometre,” says Henderson.
“[The program] is going to go a long way to some families in need in this area over the winter.”
Hunters have already been selected for this pilot project, and Henderson says they are hunters who have participated in the town’s nuisance hunt in the past.
“The first thing they had to do was have an online meeting, where various government officials took them through safety regulations making sure everything was done properly,” says Henderson.
The St. Stephen Food Bank will be receiving the product and a butcher has been selected to process the meat.
Donna Linton, who is the coordinator for the volunteer centre of Charlotte County says that they are seeing an increased demand for their services.
Linton also says one of the challenges at the food bank is getting enough protein for families in need.
“We’re hoping for hundreds and hundreds of pounds of deer meat this season,” says Linton.
“We’re actually recruiting families at this point. We’re looking for families with experience with venison or deer meat, and we’re hoping to find some families that may be a little food insecure that aren’t traditional food bank families – these would be your families living paycheck-to-paycheck.”
For those who are interested they can call the Volunteer Centre of Charlotte County at (506) 466-4995 on Monday to Friday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Manitoba government tables bill to end ban on homegrown recreational cannabis
Manitoba is planning to lift its ban on the home growing of recreational cannabis.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.