by A local hunting guide says Mi’kmaq hunters will be met by protesters as a moose cull inside the Highlands National Park starts today.
Dennis Day from Cape North adds he and other locals will be demonstrating near the proposed cull that’s set to take place in a 20-square kilometer area on North Mountain.
Parks Canada and the Mi’kmaq say the hunt is needed to curb a flourishing moose population that’s threatening the boreal forest inside the park.
But Day and others say the cull is not needed because the moose population is down due to a couple of harsh winters.
A Parks Canada spokesperson says the goal of the hunt is to remove 90 percent of the moose population inside the cull area to allow forest regeneration.
That amounts to between 35 and 40 moose.
Day says he set up a camp near the cull area yesterday and adds he’s expecting a large number of people to turn out to protest the hunt.
The hunt is due to begin at sunrise today and continue every day until Nov. 20.
Parks Canada says it’s possible the cull could continue up to Dec. 18.