Urban deer management
Whitetail Country is full! All across America, whitetails are so abundant that city parks, urban natural areas, and private neighborhoods are becoming denuded of vegetation from roaming, munching deer. Deer/vehicle accidents are increasing in number and severity. The cost of these and other deer/human conflicts is skyrocketing. What can be done?
Urban deer management is one of the most frustrating problems for state game agencies across the whitetail country. Firearms hunting, the most efficient method of population control is prohibited in urban zones. City councils, then, are faced with controlling deer numbers with sharpshooters, an expensive option, or by adopting a management program from a limited number of other methods, many of which are not supported by the public. Bow hunting organizations can help.
The North American Bowhunting Coalition (NABC) recommends the use of bowhunters to help control urban deer. Metropolitan areas in many states have adopted bow hunting programs to successfully reduce deer numbers in urban zones. Helping with urban deer problems is not as simple as just changing ordinances to allow hunting with bow and arrow or allowing bowhunters access to city property with high deer numbers. These actions will certainly help in the short term but a better long-term solution is for organized archery groups to establish a controlled, limited-access program that provides ongoing management of deer numbers by producing specially trained urban bowhunters.
BHA Urban Deer Control Program Director/Contact
Nathan Worthington
205-645-8724
worthnl@yahoo.com