Town of Truro, N.S. looks at ways to manage growing deer population, including deer cull
The town of Truro, N.S. has been working on a plan to manage its growing deer population since 2015.
Starting this week, four provincially certified crossbow hunters will embark on a deer hunt in Truro to track and kill 20 female deer.
"It’s part of a deer management strategy the town has been working on with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables," says Alison Grant, Truro’s economic development manager and member of the deer management working committee.
“The controlled management hunt was what the deer management working group felt was the most efficient and feasible solution for the town of Truro.”
Truro Mayor Bill Mills says the increasing deer population has been an issue for more than a decade and the town has an obligation to act.
“The number one reason why it’s a problem today, in many respects, is that people are feeding the deer,” said Mills.
During the 2020 municipal election, the town held a direct vote asking residents whether they supported a deer cull.
Mills says it split the town, as many opposed the idea of a deer hunt inside town limits, while others said it was necessary.
When the votes were counted, 53 per cent of those who voted (2,311 votes) said they were in favour of the cull, versus 1,728 who opposed the hunt.
“A large number of the population feels, 'Yes. It is a problem and we want you to do something about it,’” said Mills.
“There’s definitely a little too much (deer) and they are getting a little too friendly,” said Truro resident Doug White. “It doesn’t help that people are feeding them from their doorsteps either.”
According to Grant, the town is taking a zero waste approach to the hunt and is partnering with Feed Nova Scotia to donate the harvested deer meat to local food banks.
“All of the antlers and the hides are being donated to Millbrook First Nation and then a lot of the internal organs are being used for research purposes,” said Grant.
The town says there are roughly six deer per square kilometre, and estimates the population has increased by 70 per cent in the last three years.
Grant says Truro averages 20 car and deer collisions per year, however those are just the cases reported to police.
Besides the managed hunt, the town has been working on a public education campaign that includes signage around the town encouraging people not to feed the deer.
Grant says they know other municipalities across the Maritimes are experiencing similar issues with increasing deer population.
“The first year of the project is very much a pilot project,” said Grant. “We want to develop best practices and efficiencies in the first year.”
The four crossbow hunters have until mid-February to complete the deer cull.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.