Wildlife Agency and Game Commission Resistance to Non-lethal Deer Control

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Some state agencies that profit from hunting are making it more difficult or illegal for local communities to choose how to manage their neighborhood deer.

Iowa City Council agrees to four 30-day bow hunts in four years August 7, 2019 Iowa City Press Citizen

... During the first year, there will be a winter sharpshoot. For each of the four years following, there will be a 30-day bow hunt... While DNR staff said deer density needs to be close to 10 deer-per-square mile if they want to protect vegetation, the city's plan is for 25...

Iowa City Council to vote on plan for four bow hunts in four years August 5, 2019 Iowa, Iowa City Press Citizen

... On three separate occasions, the Iowa National Resource Commission, a governor-appointed board that manages the state's deer herd, shot down the city's plans, primarily because of its reluctance for a public hunt... NRC indicated that it would approve a plan including a sharpshooting element only if it was followed by four years of "meaningful" bow hunts ...


Deer Control Permits Receive Stronger Public Hunting Requirements July 24, 2019 Pennsylvania, PGC News

... requires applicants to provide proof of public hunting in seeking permits to conduct culls to manage deer in urbanized areas. Political subdivisions, homeowners associations and nonprofit land-holding organizations are eligible to apply for permits, and these groups are required to use public hunting as a management tool to be considered for a permit...

Public hunting in suburban deer programs will increase in Allegheny County August 15, 2019 Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

... In July, the commission voted to require municipalities applying for cull permits to provide more information verifying that public hunting has occurred in deer-control areas... To remain in compliance with their cull agreements, Mt. Lebanon and Fox Chapel will staff their controlled hunts with vetted archers from the general public ...


Bill dictates hunting, not sterilization to control deer populations December 13, 2018 Michigan, Detroit Free Press

... The Michigan House of Representatives gave final passage Thursday to a bill that prohibits communities from adopting deer sterilization programs to limit growing deer populations in their towns...

Bill freezing deer sterilization permits heads to Snyder’s desk December 12, 2018 Michigan, MLive

... House Bill 5321 freezes the ability of the Department of Natural Resources to issue sterilization permits like the one Ann Arbor is operating under. It wouldn’t allow the DNR to issue sterilization permits again until 2022 ...