City staff is proposing a cull of 50 urban deer for a window between Feb. 11 and March 15, having successfully applied for a wildlife permit from the provincial government.
The application for the permit was made last May, which allows for capturing and euthanizing up to 35 mule deer and 15 white tail deer.
Council will discuss the matter during a meeting on Monday evening at city hall.
READ: City of Cranbrook culls 50 urban deer
The proposed budget, based on 50 deer, is $27,500, which works out to $550 an animal, which will cover contractor costs, insurance, training, meat processing and distribution costs.
The wildlife permit is intentionally specific about the number of whitetail deer allowed to be captured, according to a staff report.
Previous permits allowed for the capture of ‘incidental’ white-tail deer, however, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNROD), noted that in the past, the city had trapped and culled more white tail deer than anticipated under the ‘incidental’ provisions.
The city’s report says the ministry has requested better communication between the two organizations for future deer culls. The permit does not allow for any translocation action.
Since 2011, there has been six separate culls, which have removed 138 deer.
Under the latest population counts from December 2018, the city says there are 98 white tail deer and 67 mule deer within the urban areas. For both species, the majority of those ungulates are does and juveniles.
The recent total population numbers have dipped from two years ago, as the last count in Nov. 2016 saw 142 white-tails and 120 mule deer within the urban areas.
trevor.crawley@cranbrooktownsman.com
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