by About 25 protesters have ended their demonstration against a moose cull in the Highlands National Park after a meeting with the Park’s new superintendent, yesterday.
Protest spokesperson Dennis Day from Cape North says Eric Le Bel, and other park officials have promised further meetings with his group as soon as possible.
Protester and Grand Etang hunting guide Arnold Dithurbide says the meeting went as well as can be expected and adds the ball is now in Parks Canada’s court.
The cull started last Tuesday but was called off the next day after a confrontation between demonstrators and non-Mi’kmaq hunters.
Parks Canada says the hunt is needed because forest regeneration inside the park is being threatened by an over-abundance of moose.
But Dithurbide says people in the area don’t trust park officials or their estimates of the moose population.
He goes on to say if there is going to be a cull, Mi’kmaq should not be given the exclusive right to take part in the hunt.
Meanwhile, Parks Canada and the Mi’kmaq say the cull will go ahead this fall, but a date hasn’t been set yet.