The City of Cranbrook is taking action against an aggressive urban deer population by preparing a cull after receiving permission from the B.C. government.
The East Kootenay city is planning to euthanize a maximum of 25 deer starting in mid-October and finishing before the end of February 2012.
The decision stems from numerous reports and incidents involving aggressive urban deer – most notably the vicious attack of a dog by a protective doe with her fawn last summer, said the city's communication officer.
"That's what pushed it to the forefront – that pushed council to say enough is enough," said Chris Zettel.
The city sat down with the province and brainstormed options to solve the deer-related issues. Despite implementing bylaws that prohibited people from feeding the animals, the city says that the problems persisted.
In October 2010, Cranbrook city council created the Urban Deer Management Advisory Committee which took the issue to the public and asked for input. The survey showed that 60 per cent of residents wanted to see some type of thinning of the herd, said Zettel.
"The committee undertook a count of the deer then issued a survey to residents who came up with different recommendations," said Zettel. "We took the idea of euthanizing the deer to the province and they asked us for a more comprehensive strategy."
The city came up with a strategy based off of one used in Helena, Montana. A baited Clover trap – a tubular steel frame covered in heavy netting baited with oats, barley and molasses – would be used to lure the deer in. Once the animal is trapped, someone would hold down the animal and a contractor would use a Bolt gun – commonly used in slaughter houses – to euthanize the deer.
"It's quick, quiet and humane with no suffering to the animal," said Zettel.
After the animal is removed, it will be inspected and prepared by a butcher. The venison will then be made available to First Nations and the food bank.
The city still needs to hire a contractor to undertake the euthanizing. According to Zettel, city council has agreed to set aside $13,000 to cover the cost of the contractor and the province is putting in $15,000 to pay for equipment, building the traps and transporting the animals.
"Nothing like this has been done here before – this is new territory for us," said Zettel. "The province is eager to partner up with us and if it's successful they might look at utilizing the method for other municipalities."
Many cities in the East Kootenay region with large deer populations - including Kimberly, Invermere and Sparwood – have expressed interest in the process, said Zettel.
In April, Nanaimo was considering a cull to deal with it's urban deer population, however, according to the city's manager of bylaw, regulation and security, the implementation of a bylaw prohibiting the feeding of animals proved effective.
