Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Animal Alliance looking forward to relocation trial


Posted December 28, 2015 12:07 pm
Arne Petryshen

Animal Alliance of Canada is one of the project partners in the upcoming recently announced mule deer relocation trial.

A trial project to translocate urban mule deer from four communities in the East Kootenay will begin later this winter. Mule deer will be live-captured in Elkford, Cranbrook, Kimberley and Invermere, and transported to winter range areas in the East Kootenay where natural non-urban mule deer populations have been in decline for several years.

Liz White, executive director of the organization, said they are looking forward to the project.

“As you know, we’ve been part of opposing the deer culls that occurred in Elkford, Kimberley, Cranbrook, Invermere… over the last few years,” White said, adding that when the government decided they would look at non-lethal alternatives, Animal Alliance agreed to participate.

“So that’s what we’re doing in hopes that municipalities will begin looking at a variety of different non-lethal alternatives that I think will begin to help kind of deal with specific issues that culling clearly does not,” she said. “There are animals that they say are a problem, but there’s no guarantee that those animals are the ones being killed in the traps. It calls into question the efficacy of the culling.”

White hopes the government will get on board with the alternative methods, as it is up to it to change the provincial regulations to allow alternatives to culling.
White said that the government agreeing to participate in the relocation pilot is a good indication that the government may be opening up to the idea.

“This is a program that requires engagement by government officials in terms of allowing use of effects on deer that would not ordinarily be allowed, like using drugs on them to tranquilize them and that kind of thing,” she said, adding the provincial veterinarian also has to be involved.

Animal Alliance is assisting in the purchase of radio collars for the relocation study.

The collars will allow for the relocated to be monitored. That will allow the whole thing to be evaluated.

White said it has been quite difficult dealing with the government on these issues in the past.

“There has been over a period of time, resistance to alternatives,” she said, noting that Kimberley had applied a number of years ago to try hazing and got permission for a one-off trial. White said hazing has to happen in a much more planned and coordinated way to work effectively. She added it needs to be combined with other techniques, such as not allowing people to feed deer.

“Most municipalities, Kimberley being the exception, have a bylaw but don’t enforce it,” she said.

White also said that killing the deer doesn’t solve the issue of urban deer.

“If you look at the numbers, I think they’ve had four culls and really the number of mule deer they’ve counted has not gone down substantially,” she said. “It just doesn’t work.”

She noted Animal Alliance was disappointed that Cranbrook proceeded with a cull earlier in 2015.

White said she will be coming to the area to observe the relocation.

“It’s a whole coordinated thing and a whole bunch of people who haven’t really got along very well together in the past are all kind of working together, it’s kind of nice,” she said.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Urban mule deer translocation trial set to begin


Posted December 21, 2015 e-KNOW


After extensive planning and discussions, a trial project to translocate urban mule deer from four communities in the East Kootenay will begin later this winter.

Mule deer will be live-captured in Elkford, Cranbrook, Kimberley and Invermere, and transported to winter range areas in the East Kootenay where natural non-urban mule deer populations have been in decline for several years.

This trial project, which has received widespread support, is a response to the desire of many to find a non-lethal option to reduce urban deer populations. While the hope is that translocation will prove to be a reliable management tool, the current project is designed to scientifically test if translocation of urban deer is humane and effective. Humane treatment of deer is the primary focus throughout the process.

“The objective of this project is to test how urban mule deer respond once they’ve been moved to natural environments,” explained lead project biologist Ian Adams of Cranbrook-based VAST Resource Solutions. “For the project to prove successful, translocated deer must not return to either their home community or any other urban area. From the outset we’ve been clear that deer moved from one community are not to become a nuisance elsewhere.”

Another question is how deer cope with predators.

“A concern of many is that urban deer have become naïve to predators,” said Adams. “These are animals that are now accustomed to staring down perceived threats from people and pets, particularly dogs. Whether deer retain some innate memory of predators can only be tested by moving deer from urban areas to natural areas.”

In order to track their movement and survival, 20 of the translocated deer will be fitted with GPS radio collars. The collars are programmed to connect with Global Positioning System satellites, just like a GPS unit used by geocachers or the dashboard of a vehicle.

Up to two locations of the deer are sent daily to biologists to track their movements. A collar will also send out notification if it doesn’t move for eight hours. Biologists will then track it down as soon as possible to determine if the deer has died and, if so, establish cause of death. All deer will have visible ear tags to identify them as translocated urban mule deer.

“The timing of this trial project is great,” said Adams. “B.C. provincial biologists are currently running a similar project on non-urban mule deer, using the same GPS collar technology. We’ll be able to compare movement and survival of translocated urban deer with natural mule deer in the same areas at the same time. It’s an ideal scientific control.”

The communities involved are pleased to have the trial proceed and the opportunity to be involved. Partnerships and cooperation are key to the project’s success, Adams suggested.

This work has brought together provincial and municipal governments, the conservation community and others. Animal Alliance of Canada, which has been forthright in their opposition to culling, supports the project and has contributed financially to its implementation.”

Local wildlife conservation clubs are important partners and strong supporters of the project, volunteering their efforts to help implement the translocation.

"We are pleased to be part of a project exploring alternatives to the lethal management of deer who frequent urban environments,” said Liz White, Director of Animal Alliance of Canada. “We hope that the communities involved will continue to seek alternatives to culling.”

“As a leading municipality on this translocation trial project we are pleased with the partnerships made on this project, and the progress to-date, and look forward to implementation later this winter,” said District of Elkford Mayor Dean McKerracher.

“The issues associated with urban deer are not going to go away,” stated City of Kimberley Mayor Don McCormick. “Municipalities have limited options for dealing with these issues, and translocation seems to be one option that is supported by all interest groups. If successful, translocation will offer far more flexibility than a cull and be a welcome addition to our toolkit.”

City of Cranbrook’s Corporate Communications Officer, Chris Zettel, stated, “For several years now, communities in this region affected by large urban deer populations have been seeking additional tools to deal with the problem. We are excited to be a partner in this trial, which we see as a promising step forward.”

This project is funded, in part, through the Upper Kootenay Ecosystem Enhancement Plan (UKEEP), which is a partnership between the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP) and Columbia Basin Trust (CBT). Significant additional financial support has been provided by all project partners.

Partners include: District of Elkford, City of Kimberley, City of Cranbrook, District of Invermere, Animal Alliance of Canada, B.C. Ministry of Forest, Lands & Natural Resource Operations, Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, Columbia Basin Trust, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers of British Columbia and local Rod and Gun Clubs.

VAST Resource Solutions Inc. is a privately owned environmental consulting company based in the East Kootenay of British Columbia. The company provides professional natural resource management and engineering services to a wide variety of industry and government clients.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Spay Vac Project Thwarted by Pro-cull Politicians


There was much optimism in the room after the July 22, 2015 meeting of the Planning, Transportation and Protective Services Committe concerning a $35,000 grant to the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society when the majority of the Directors agreed that the organization should receive a grant for their work in non-lethal deer management. Although none of our local media attended, Oak Bay News ran this story: http://www.oakbaynews.com/news/318704801.html

Now on the CRD website:





The Chair of the CRD, Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen, is also on the Finance Committee.

“What I would feel most comfortable with … would be to say reduce the amount [that the municipality of Oak Bay would grant to UWSS] to $5,000 but give it to them based on them receiving the funding from the CRD,” said Coun. Hazel Braithwaite [Oak Bay]. “I would still like to see some of the education part go on and the count go on.”

With arrows shot through publicly funded deer signs, bullets fired at deer in broad daylight in the Uplands, and pro-cull councillors who want public education, deer signs and deer counts conducted and funded by grass roots groups, it appears that Oak Bay isn't the most progressive municipality in the CRD that should recieve the efforts and the expertise that the UWSS offers.

Urban deer don’t attract cougars


Times Colonist, Oct 18, 2015

Re: “Cougar sightings reason to cull deer,” letter, Oct. 7.


I would like to dispel a widely held but incorrect view: that urban deer are attracting cougars. I am a retired biologist with 35 years of experience in wildlife management.
In the late 1970s, the B.C. Fish and Wildlife Branch produced maps that illustrated the distribution and abundance of each of the province’s large mammal species. I did the extensive background research for the cougar map.
One common thread was cougars coming into Victoria. This is nothing new and has happened every year as far back as records have been kept. In 1973, a cougar was shot on the steps of the Carnegie Building at Yates and Blanshard. Around the same time, another one entered the main foyer of a downtown office building. In 1998, a cougar walked into the old office of Scott Plastics near Fisherman’s Wharf.
These are a few of many such cases. All of these examples were in the last century. Deer only became numerous in Victoria since the year 2000.
Cougars are territorial, and young ones are forced into marginal areas by mature cats that occupy the best territories. This sometimes means living nearer to people than the cougar would like.
Generally, cougars want nothing to do with people, and if you think about it, how would they even know the deer are here? Do people think there is a sign in cougar language at the top of the Malahat that reads: “For a good lunch, go to Oak Bay”?
John Thornton
Victoria

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Police Investigate Alleged Shooting of Deer in Oak Bay

October 15, 2015 07:30 from Adam Stirling

“Oak Bay police are investigating the possible shooting of deer in the municipality last night.

Residents in the Uplands area reported seeing a white van around 7:30pm approach a group of deer assembled on a boulevard. What is believed to have been a gunshot rang out as the deer scattered.

A nearby homeowner says what appeared to be an injured buck took refuge in their back yard for a period of time after the incident.

Police inspected the scene today and found evidence of an animal losing significant amounts of blood, but there was no sign of the buck.

The van is described only as white and being a late-90s model. Anyone with any information is asked to contact police.”


We are NOT going to be terrified into using our tax dollars to bolt gun deer in the head because these frustrated gardeners "mean business." Our municipal leaders need to be cognizant of the violence that this shooting has perpetrated on us all by the thinly veiled threat that was intended by this cowardly act.

We want safe cities that manage wildlife using science and compassion. Anything else will leave us all vulnerable to the violent-minded.

Friday, October 9, 2015

A Young Family is Terrified by Anti Deer Violence


Deer shot in drive-by in front of Bragg Creek home


Family is shocked by incident and worried about two fawns left behind

CBC News Posted: Oct 07, 2015 7:07 PM MT Last Updated: Oct 07, 2015 9:08 PM MT

Mackenzie Walsh and her three-year-old daughter Tilly in front of their house where a doe with two fawns was shot by a man in a BMW. (Allison Dempster/CBC)

It was a drive-by worthy of a Disney script.
A deer and her two fawns had been regular visitors to the Walsh family's West Bragg Creek property since spring, enough that Mackenzie Walsh says they were "almost like pets to us."
So she and her family reacted with horror when a man drove up in a BMW last weekend and shot the doe in front of their home.

The doe was killed on the weekend in front of the Walsh family home in West Bragg Creek. (Walsh family) 

The gunshot startled her three-year-old daughter Tilly and sent her husband running out the door to confront the man.
"He said, 'Stop!', and the guy peeled off. And then Justin, my husband, went and looked and sure enough he had shot the mom deer 15 metres basically from where we were sitting in our living room," Walsh told CBC News.
"Had he missed it could've gone straight through our window."
Walsh says people in the area are outraged by the incident, and she's concerned for the two fawns, which the family has named Hope and Grace.
"She has these two babies that now have no mom," Walsh said. "And I know it is that time of year where they're getting weaned, but they're not weaned yet and they need to bulk up before winter comes and it comes fast here, so that's another concern."

Two fawns in Bragg Creek will have to face the winter alone after a man in a BMW shot their mother last weekend. (Walsh family)

Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers, as well as the RCMP, are looking into the incident, but have not yet identified the driver, who could face numerous charges including careless use of a firearm.
"Why did the deer die?" Tilly asks.
"When the mom died I heard that noise ... that 'boom.' It was really, really, really loud."



Thursday, October 1, 2015

Taking Out the Trash in Kimberley

By Brenda Ann Babinski, e-know.ca
posted September 30, 2015



City of Kimberley council voted unanimously September 28 to adopt the new Solid Waste Regulations and Rates Bylaw No. 2520.
One of the purposes of the new bylaw amendment is to help minimize wildlife interaction with the waste management. The amendment includes the mandatory use of bins for garbage.  Leaving trash in bags on the curb attracts small wildlife and birds that can easily get through the plastic and into the trash.  The amendment requires homeowners set out their trash no earlier than 5 a.m. on their waste collection day.
The amended bylaw covers the separation of yard waste and recyclables from normal household garbage.  This change is meant to help reduce the impact on the regional landfill by encouraging residents to recycle.
Mayor Don McCormick says the City of Kimberley will be offering educational and promotional campaigns to the residents to help them understand the changes and assist in the implementation.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Re: National Post Full Comment by Brian Hutchinson

“After cull enrages “Save Bambi” crowd, BC creates 100k/year “advisory committee” on urban deer”

September 28, 2015

* In a purely emotional comment, Brian Hutchinson, Vancouver columnist for the National Post,  attempted to explain the need for urban deer culls using the clover trap/bolt gun method.  DeerSafe points out his lack of research and reliance on an excerpt from the post-cull report by Oak Bay. *

VANCOUVER — Residents of verdant Oak Bay, B.C. are on red alert after Ollie, a nine-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, was brutally attacked and killed earlier this month while “doing his business” in his owner’s front yard.

“His little head was smashed right open,” his distraught owner told CHEK TV. “It was all over very quickly. He just dropped dead instantly.”

* A tragic event. Media did not cover another tragic death of a dog at the Cattle Point parking lot – which is in Oak Bay, not Victoria where Ollie's owner actually lives – where a driver deliberately ran over someone's beloved pet right before their eyes. * 

Ollie’s killer was an unfettered ungulate. Specifically, a deer. An aggressive buck is now wanted in Oak Bay for crimes against canines. What fate might befall the buck, should a local human ever confront it, is unclear.

* Witnesses at the scene were not sure this was a buck. *

Oak Bay residents are conflicted about their urban deer, which number in the dozens — if not hundreds — and get into all kinds of trouble. * Exaggeration that is permissible due to lack of evidence. * Garden pilferage, traffic accidents, sometimes pet homicide. The cleanest, most sensible solution is to shoot problem deer, and whenever possible to butcher the carcasses and give the meat to community groups, First Nations and whomever else might have a taste for venison. * Urban deer will not pass a meat inspection. *

But when such a cull operation launched in Oak Bay earlier this year, and 11 deer were trapped and shot dead over 16 days, the “Save Bambi” crowd howled. Local politicians scampered off in fear.

* The Oak By pilot project was intended as an experiment to see if deer could be clover trapped and bolt gunned in a densely urbanized municipality.  The target was 25 deer, so 11 would appear to be a dismal failure. *

“Regardless of having the support of the silent majority in our community, * exaggeration that is permissible due to lack of evidence * there is currently no permitted and socially acceptable way to responsibly and ethically manage a growing population of urban deer * exaggeration that is permissible due to lack of evidence * in a manner that does not financially and emotionally severely challenge the municipal leadership who are taking action,” reads an April 2015 post-cull report from the District of Oak Bay.

So that was that. No more culls in emotionally-challenged Oak Bay, where deer roam free and half-wild. Bad news for Ollie, indeed.

* An emotional statement itself. *

The fact is, deer are running amok in cities and municipalities across B.C., and the rest of Canada, too. * Exaggeration that is permissible due to lack of evidence. * A few days before Ollie’s business was interrupted and he died, Vancouver witnessed its own deer-related death. A slender buck, briefly beloved for nosing nonchalantly around the downtown core, emerged from its adopted home in Stanley Park and was smoked by a passing motorist. * Smoked?  A comment that is as insensitive to deer as any motorist who speeds, then blames others when things go wrong. *

The Vancouver Park Board issued a solemn statement on the animal’s “passing,” describing the death as a “tragedy.” The park board dared not mention the right answer to its local urban deer problem. Shoot-to-cull is anathema in butter-soft Vancouver. Deer adoption seems the preferred option here.

Alas, “finding sanctuaries willing to receive animals in these circumstances is a challenge,” says the park board. * Sanctuaries are privately funded. If government wants to off-load wildlife to them they should be fully funding them as well. *

Into the breach stepped the provincial government, which last week announced it will set up a Provincial Urban Deer Advisory Committee, to discuss ad infinitum the issue, and direct up to $100,000 a year “for future deer management operations” across B.C.

Details are to come later, after the urban deer advisory committee members are selected, a process also shrouded in mystery. “The committee is currently being formed,” according to B.C.’s ministry of forests, lands and natural resource operations. “More details will follow.”

Here’s what committee members and other interested parties can do now: Read the myriad reports and studies already commissioned in B.C and other provinces in recent years. Hundreds and hundreds of pages, all about urban deer and the problems they cause.

Every possible solution has been discussed to death already. Capturing deer and relocating them to the woods somewhere can be effective, but it’s expensive and not so easy on the deer. “Hazing” deer, or scaring them away with dogs and devices, is almost useless. Deer aren’t stupid; they adapt. Injecting doe with birth control chemicals is a complicated business and cost-prohibitive.

* One “possible solution” hasn't been adequately explored – immunocontraception.  Oak Bay residents comprised of scientists, educators and retired government officials have formed a group called the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society. The CRD has committed $30,000 to their immunocontraceptive project, and Oak Bay council has begrudgingly committed $5,000.  Thousands have also been raised by public donation.  This pilot project is yet to be completed and assessed. *

Most reports suggest the same thing: The best way to handle problem urban deer is not to handle them. Kill them instead. And, if the specimens are healthy — frequently, they are not, poor deer — devour them. * Preferably donate them to the poor and First Nations, since the meat would not pass a government inspection. *

It’s too much to bear for some societies, where meat doesn’t come naturally at all, where steaks magically appear in grocery stores instead, nicely sliced and packaged in prophylactic cellophane. In other words, almost everywhere, now. And certainly in Vancouver and Oak Bay, where “sensitivities” are easily aroused and exploited. Just like urban deer, animal rights hardliners can be a nuisance everywhere.

The use of firearms in cities is a legitimate concern. Most Canadian municipalities prohibit the use of guns within their boundaries, so certain provisions to ensure public safety must be made. * Provisions that would take more readings of a myriad of reports and studies, not to be taken lightly when those with weapons are skulking around our municipalities. *

After its brief deer-killing experiment this year, the District of Oak Bay noted that it takes the right kind of “contractor” to conduct a cull. “Someone who is a hunter does not necessarily have the appropriate skills and temperament to manage all of the complex requirements that accompany something as sensitive in nature as this initiative,” the report reads. * Why the term "sensitive in nature?"  They are talking about horrific animal abuse, after all. *

Translation: Trophy hunters and avenging Yorkie lovers need not apply.

* “Save Bambi crowd,” “animal rights hardliners,” “emotionally challenged Oak Bay.”  Name calling is the last refuge of those who cannot logically disprove an opposing viewpoint. *


Saturday, September 26, 2015

Deer Culling Creates an Atmosphere of Violence


On the morning of September 16, 2015 a small Yorkshire terrier was tragically killed by a deer in the municipality of Victoria. In a local newscast the house of a neighbour was pictured with a deer crossing sign on the front lawn. The signs are purchased from the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society by members of the public who want to warn drivers that deer live in their neighborhoods.

A heartbreaking situation has become a platform for the pro-cull enthusiasts in a shameless attempt to bring discussion back to our communities to support the killing of deer. But the vitriol towards the deer supporters took an ominous turn when the neighbours whose house was shown on the news woke up on the morning of September 26 to find an arrow in their sign. No other signs on this street had been vandalized. The neighbour experienced a justifiable sense of intimidation. This time the arrow through the sign was a “novelty” arrow, but the message was meant to create just that; intimidation and fear.

A DeerSafe member came very close to becoming a victim of physical assault while collecting signatures for the “No to a Cull” petition to the CRD. Fortunately the angry pro-cull individual was restrained by her companions.

Some politicians have fed into a fearmongering mentality that creates a violent atmosphere for citizens. If policies are passed that lead to the deaths of wild animals who have no way out, there will be resistance by many citizens who would prefer a humane approach.

DeerSafe holds the position that lethal deer management in our communities will engender a sense in our youth that violence will solve their problems. Poor policy such as the mass slaughter of inconvenient animals is not only dangerous, it will follow us all into the future.


Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Biologists keeping a close eye on deer populations



Wildlife biologists are keeping a close eye on mule and whitetail deer populations.
— image credit: Trevor Crawley

by  Trevor Crawley - Cranbrook Daily Townsman
posted Sep 15, 2015 at 8:30 AM

As the season turns into fall, hunters are hauling out their gear to head out into the backcountry to search for their elusive ungulates.

Hunting season, starting with an early archery phase, opened on Sept. 1st for elk, mule and whitetail deer, and moose.

For the most part, ungulate populations in the area seem to be doing alright, according to a wildlife biologist with the Fish and Wildlife branch of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

However, the government is keeping an eye on the mule deer population, as hunting regulations recently replaced an any mule deer buck season with a four-point mule deer buck season.

"That was mainly because of concerns about low buck-to-doe ratios in some areas," said Tara Szkorupa, a wildlife biologist.

…And then we just have concerns about the mule deer population overall. We don't believe that there was any correlation between the any buck season and the declines in the mule deer because there was still good fawn recruitment and breeding and there didn't appear to be any effect on breeding."

A combination of animal health and predation are potential factors to the population decline, she added.

"Those can interact and there can be less complicating factors around that, but those are the main two factors that we're looking at," Szkorupa said.

"So the health and the body condition of the animals—that would point to habitat potentially being limiting and then we have radio collars that a signal goes off when the animal dies and we can get in on the animal quickly and look at which predators—if it was predated on—which predator was involved."

Wildlife biologists aren't as concerned about Whitetail deer, but are still watching the populations very closely, she added.

Hunters have reported fewer whitetail sightings to the Fish and Wildlife branch in areas with good road access and heavy hunting pressure. However, based off the harvest records from 2014, hunters seem to be having a lot of success with Whitetails, she said.

"Whitetail, overall, appear to be doing quite well, but we're watching the populations very closely and we're discussing options for changing hunting regulations for the future as well."

For both Whitetail and Mule Deer, the provincial government is also looking for hunters to bring in the heads of their animals to select butcher shops or the Ministry of Environment office to test for Chronic Wasting Disease.

According to a provincial online resource, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a fatal disease of animals in the Cervid family, which include mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and moose.

CWD is not currently present in B.C. but is spreading west in free-ranging deer from Alberta. There has been a CWD surveillance program since 2002 that has tested over 2,500 deer, elk and moose.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) was first detected in captive mule deer in the 1960s in Colorado and Wyoming and was introduced to Canada from the United States by imported captive elk.

There is currently no evidence that CWD can infect humans. For more information on CWD, visit www.gov.bc.ca/wildlifehealth.

In terms of changes to the Region 4 B.C. hunting regulations, there isn't too much different from last year.

In select management units, there are expanded spike-fork moose hunting opportunities, revised cougar seasons and female quota as well as modifications to agricultural zone elk hunting opportunities.

The cougar changes were made mainly in areas that are home to Caribou in the region.

"The bag limit was increased in mainly caribou areas—areas where we are concerned about predation on caribou and there's not a whole lot of cougar hunting in those areas and so that was just another potential tool to increase the harvest in those areas a bit," Szkorupa said.

For a complete synopsis of the hunting regulations, go online and visit: www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

CRD directors vote to leave deer management to municipalities





A young buck stops for a quick snack on Rockland Avenue.   Photograph By BRUCE STOTESBURY, Times Colonist

Capital Regional District directors agreed Wednesday the CRD should take only a limited role in deer management.
And some directors encouraged representatives of a citizens group looking to sterilize urban deer — rather than see them culled — to formally apply for CRD funding.
Members of the planning, transportation and protective services committee agreed with staff recommendations that the CRD not start a new service to manage deer and instead limit its role to sharing lessons learned from a pilot deer-management program conducted over the past two years.
Prior to committee discussions, representatives of the newly formed Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society talked of their plans to capture, tag and release deer in Oak Bay and to sterilize 25 does with the contraceptive vaccine SpayVac.
They asked the CRD for $35,000 in funding but were told they would have to make a formal application to the board. Society president Bryan Gates said Oak Bay agreed this week to contribute $5,000 to the sterilization pilot program in that community.
We will trap, vaccinate, tag and release all deer. Both males and females will be caught and tagged but only females, of course, will be vaccinated,” Gates said.
Another goal is long-term effectiveness.” The group also wants to collect information on population sizes, makeup and trends, habitat use and movement, he said.
Metchosin Mayor John Ranns, said that, as a farmer, he’s tried everything from shooting to fencing to deal with deer and the SpayVac pilot seems like it might work.
In terms of the urban environment, which is entirely different from the rural environment, I believe this is a very good pilot project,” Ranns said. “I think, from my experience in living with deer on a day-to-day basis, that that probably has the best chance of success of anything I’ve seen other than fencing.”
Saanich Coun. Vic Derman supported the plan to gather information.
I would agree if we are going to intelligently attempt to manage deer, we absolutely have to start out with being able to survey, identify and enumerate the population and then track what happens to that population over time,” Derman said.
Once you have identified the population and are able to track it, then you can evaluate the success of any attempts to manage that population.”
CRD staff say no municipality has approached the regional district asking it to take an ongoing role in deer management, and many of the tasks associated with deer management — such as determining deer management options, selecting trap sites and managing contracts — can be undertaken only by municipalities.
Since 2013, the CRD and Oak Bay have spent a combined $270,000 for two deer-management pilot projects — one in Central Saanich and one in Oak Bay.
Oak Bay has conducted a cull, which prompted protests and saw 11 deer killed over 16 days. Traps were set up on private property and the deer were killed with a bolt gun. First Nations were offered the killed deer.
In the rural pilot project, 16 farms were visited by the CRD for crop-damage inspection. Staff provided information on fencing, municipal permits, firearms licences and use of scaring and hazing tactics. The CRD did not say how many rural deer were culled.