SWAT Team to Cull Deer

[Lee Borgersen]

     New York Town Calls on Local SWAT Team Members to Cull Deer
 
 April 4, 2014
 


The town of North Tonawanda, New York revived a bait-and-shoot program last month to deal with what local leaders call a significant deer overpopulation. According to the Niagara Gazette, the cull will be carried out by four members of the city police department’s SWAT team between March and October.

“We’re not starting anything radical,” Third Ward Alderman Zadzilka told the Gazette. “We’re resuming what we did in the past. We were hearing a lot more complaints from residents in the last two years about property damage. That’s what precipitated bringing this back.”

The town first started the sharpshooting program in 2004 when experts from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) counted over 1,000 deer within the city boundaries. With DEC approval, the North Tonawanda police department maintained a deer management program until 2008. In that time frame, police sharpshooters killed about 241 deer.

“This program is not only necessary to reduce the current deer population and protect our residents and their property, but to manage that population going forward,” Mayor Robert Ortt told The Sun. “We are simply restarting that program. Working together with the DEC, I am confident that this program will be done in a professional and respectful manner.”

The DEC is unsure how many deer live within North Tonawanda limits today, but residents say they are concerned that the animals can become a major traffic hazard. In the past, the town considered using birth control to sterilize the deer, although that plan proved to be too expensive. Hunters, however, say that a better alternative to control deer numbers would be opening an urban hunting season. Many cities across the nation are turning to bowhunters to solve their deer problem, especially in urban areas where wildlife and automobiles can make for a hazardous mix.

City officials say the sharpshooting program has historically been a success.

“When the program was set up it was never meant to go dormant. I think it was well-received last time, it was well run and there weren’t any complaints,” said Police Chief William Hall.

Any deer meat harvested by the program will be sent to a local food bank.



File image of a SWAT team at work. It is unlikely that North Tonawanda officers will dress up in similar gear while culling deer.

[dew2]

 Thats discusting!! The local governments should orgainize property owners with local archery clubs! If for safety reasons have each archer take a class and pass a effiecenty test,set rules and let hunters take the animals.Either keep them for their own use or donations to needy.They could charge a license fee=make $,open some great hunting for those who jump through the hoops and want to do the hunt.This aint no SWAT operation!! I bet archery hunters would jump at the chance and pay!!

[The General]

Thats discusting!! The local governments should orgainize property owners with local archery clubs! If for safety reasons have each archer take a class and pass a effiecenty test,set rules and let hunters take the animals.Either keep them for their own use or donations to needy.They could charge a license fee=make $,open some great hunting for those who jump through the hoops and want to do the hunt.This aint no SWAT operation!! I bet archery hunters would jump at the chance and pay!!

Exactly what dew2 said.

[beeker]

it's new York.. I rely on them to do the right thing as much as I rely on California

[Bobby Bass]

Thats discusting!! The local governments should orgainize property owners with local archery clubs! If for safety reasons have each archer take a class and pass a effiecenty test,set rules and let hunters take the animals.Either keep them for their own use or donations to needy.They could charge a license fee=make $,open some great hunting for those who jump through the hoops and want to do the hunt.This aint no SWAT operation!! I bet archery hunters would jump at the chance and pay!!

They do this in Duluth to the tune of about 500 deer a season. But then again Duluth has a ton of green space with a lot of room for archers to hunt.

[kenhuntin]

The article states that it is highly unlikely that the officers will dress as they are in the photo to cull the deer. I really doubt that they would suit up any different. There is a chance that they may encounter a protester. They probably will have a an armed perimeter as well. And if things really got bad for them they also are armed with tactical pens to stab the deer with as a last resort.
 If only the new Yorkers knew that they could thin the herd with a few wolves. Then they could also benefit of a new free trout stream that will run through town.

[lentz]

If only the new Yorkers knew that they could thin the herd with a few wolves. Then they could also benefit of a new free trout stream that will run through town.