The Geneva Council of State authorized, for the first time, the slaughter of 40 deer. Their presence, if too numerous, causes damage to crops. An animal protection association, which appealed, recommends vaccinating deer instead.
Christophe Courtois sees destroyed crops every day. “Here, for example, the rapeseed plant is broken in two. It’s irreversible,” he testified on Saturday on RTS’s 7:30 p.m. program, showing a field affected by animal damage.
For years, this farmer from Versoix has been trying to protect his fields from deer. To achieve this, he fenced off his agricultural areas for kilometers, but without success. The herds, day and night, jump between the wires and feed on its production.
To protect crops
The losses caused are considerable, even if, up to 10 to 15 percent of damage, the operator is compensated. “But when we go beyond financial balance, we call the profession into question,” laments Christophe Courtois.
To limit the damage, the Geneva Council of State authorized the slaughter of 40 deer this winter, a decision against which the Animal Equité association filed two appeals. She suggests, instead, vaccinating deer in order to limit their fertility.
“The vaccine acts on the animal’s immune system”, with “an effectiveness of approximately two to three years depending on the species. Subsequently, the deer will regain “their full capacity to reproduce”, explains its president Luc Fournier .
A pilot project?
According to him, this method would make it possible to regulate, according to needs, the deer population in the region. He recommends launching a pilot study on the effectiveness of the vaccine, and, if necessary, stopping the shots and using only this method.
Contacted, the Council of State does not wish to comment on the subject before a court decision. Before filing this appeal, however, the government considered the proposal unsuitable for practical and ethical reasons.
Report TV: Jérémy Riser and Claire Eckersley
Adaptation web: mera
Swiss
