Mt. Lebanon seeks ways to curb deer population
Share with others:
Mt. Lebanon commissioners are hearing complaints about deer from residents, so they want to explore ways to control the town's deer population.
Two representatives of the Pennsylvania Game Commission visited Mt. Lebanon on Tuesday to talk about deer control.
From 2006 to 2008, the municipality contracted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lower the deer population, but it did not enter into the contract this year.
"The No. 1 issue for me is that eventually there is going to be a serious accident involving a deer," commission President John Daley said.
State Farm insurance company released a deer collision report last month that calculated the chance of a vehicle in Pennsylvania striking a deer in the next year in 1 in 94. That places the Pennsylvania second after West Virginia, the state in which a vehicle is most likely to strike a deer.
The Game Commission representatives answered questions about various methods to curb the deer population, including gun and archery hunting, trapping, relocation and contraception.
The closeness of the houses in Mt. Lebanon's neighborhoods complicates the issue.
Anyone who tries to shoot a deer must have a safety zone of 50 yards when using a bow and arrow or 150 yards when using a gun.
Because the houses in Mt. Lebanon often are within the boundaries of the required safety zone, the person would need permission from his neighbors to hunt in his yard.
Homeowners can recruit other people to hunt on their property, in accordance with all hunting regulations, but they cannot pay them, the Game Commission representatives said.
Mt. Lebanon resident Kimberly Schevtchuk voiced concerns about the municipality's approach to deer control. The danger of a rifle shot in the close confines of a neighborhood supersede the danger of a person hitting a deer with his car, she said.
She asked the municipality to weigh the costs and to get more specific numbers on the size of the deer population, not to do "policy-making based on perception and feeling."
First Published October 1, 2009 6:36 am
