Urban areas across the United States have become hotbeds for flourishing whitetail populations with little to no hunting pressure. As part of a four-year deer management program, the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan completed its first deer cull this past winter, amid a great deal of protests and litigation.
In an effort to continue the program and hamper the deer population within city parks, the city’s budget for the next fiscal year includes $145,000 for lethal and non-lethal deer management activities. In addition to conducting a second cull next winter, the funds will also be used to explore additional options for dealing with the deer and in collecting the necessary data.
This new number represents a $75,000 increase, split evenly between lethal and non-lethal tactics, which was voted in 8-3 in favor of the increase.
“It establishes a budget for a cull and all of the related deer management activities essential to success,” council member Jane Lumm told Mlive.com
This budget increase comes after the city budgeted $90,000 for deer management last year, but actual costs are shaping up to be closer to $107,000.
