St Malo deer statue evicted

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2015 (3228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is ironic that a statue commemorating a historic relocation now must be relocated itself.

On Wednesday evening, about 25 community residents watched as the two deer monuments perched above St Malo were taken from what has been their home since 1989.

The St Malo and District Wildlife Association have until the end of May to move the landmark, the agreed upon deadline as per a resolution between the non-profit and St Malo developer Leo Roch late last year.

IAN FROESE | THE CARILLON
The last of the two white-tail deer monuments overlooking St Malo are taken from their perch Wednesday night.
IAN FROESE | THE CARILLON The last of the two white-tail deer monuments overlooking St Malo are taken from their perch Wednesday night.

The settlement prevented the prolonged dispute from heading to court. Roch argued the statues must be moved to make way for a 32-unit condo development on land he purchased beside the Chalet Malouin seniors housing complex.

After standing as a community icon for more than 25 years, the statues are now homeless. The wildlife group, who was pursuing legal alternatives until a couple days ago, has yet to find a suitable location in a high-traffic corridor akin to the corner of Highway 59 and Provincial Road 218, nor a cost-effective solution—they do not have tens of thousands to spend.

Ian Kirby, president of the wildlife group, is confident the monument will find a new venue in St Malo, sometime.

“The dozens of phone calls that all of our board members have been receiving over the last weeks and months at each of our own personal homes relays to me that there’s already a sense of urgency,” he said.

Kirby said Wednesday the two light standards would be removed later that evening and the concrete platform should be taken down on Thursday.

The deer monument recognized the wildlife group’s work in relocating 283 deer from Winnipeg to the St Malo area in the late 1980s. It is said to be the only successful deer relocation program in Canada’s history.

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