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Partnership needed to explore all options with nuisance deer
From the City Desk…
By Coun. Gerry Warner
City of Cranbrook
It’s possibly the most controversial and intractable problem faced by numerous municipalities in B.C., including Cranbrook, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
I’m talking, of course, about urban deer, which are breeding like Australian bunnies in cities and towns all over the province, turning municipalities into default game sanctuaries — and by their sheer numbers — making some people afraid to go for a walk on our previously safe streets.
It’s a ludicrous situation and it has got to end.
Cranbrook and many other municipalities as far away as Oak Bay have been dealing with the situation as best they can, but it’s an uphill struggle because they lack the resources, financial and otherwise, as well as the expertise to deal responsibly and sensitively with Bambi and his numerous friends.
No matter how much deer are romanticized, the cute and furry ungulates are wild animals with pointed hooves and strong antlers and some of them, especially does with fawns, won’t hesitate to attack humans if they feel threatened. There have been no fatalities yet, but “yet” is the operative word because there have been lots of attacks and threatening behavior by aggressive deer and it’s only a matter of time until a senior, a mother pushing a buggy or any citizen out walking their dog gets seriously injured or killed.
Responsible action by authorities could prevent this from happening, but not all the authorities are fully at the table and this has got to end. District of Invermere Mayor Gerry Taft recently took a strong step in this direction by calling on the province to come to the aid of municipalities grappling with the deer issue by sharing the costs of implementing “deer management options.” Note he said “options,” of which culling is only one, but no matter what option is used it costs money and money is perennially in short supply at the municipal level because local governments get only eight cents of every dollar collected by all levels of government.
When the province doesn’t participate in a meaningful way, the costs of “managing” deer amounts to the ultimate financial “download” on the backs of municipalities by the province and it’s simply not fair. Don’t get me wrong because the province has helped to a certain degree by allowing Conservation Officers and forestry officials assist communities struggling with the burgeoning deer problem and by providing traps to contain the deer before culling. But municipalities still have to pick up the tab to pay the contractors that actually cull the deer and those costs are rising.
Victoria has yet to make legislative changes to the Wildlife Act that would allow municipalities to explore options to culling like hazing by dogs to scare away the deer or chemically rendering does infertile. Nor has Victoria taken a position on translocation of nuisance deer. In the past, the province has provided financial aid for fences to keep elk away from farmers’ cattle, but this kind of helpful aid has not been provided to municipalities.
In late January, Cranbrook council raised the deer issue in a meeting with Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett, but came out of the meeting with little more than the status quo even though under the Provincial Wildlife Act the province owns the deer and the deer are essentially trespassing on municipal property.
Obviously what’s needed is a partnership between local government and Victoria to explore all options in managing the province’s nuisance deer thereby reducing the number culled. Nor should municipalities be expected to go it alone on the financial costs of managing deer.
In light of this, I once again suggest council extend an invitation to MLA Bennett to attend a council meeting and tell us what he thinks of the province partnering with municipalities on the urban deer issue. This would also be a great opportunity for the MLA to share his thoughts on a topic of concern to many citizens of Cranbrook.
– Gerry Warner, Councillor City of Cranbrook. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the City of Cranbrook.
