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Cranbrook council is putting to bed its first urban deer cull, conducted last December.
But in the process it is revealing details of the cull that weren't previously public.
At council's regular meeting on Monday, February 20, council accepted the 2011 Urban Deer Cull Summary Report.
It outlines the steps taken by the city prior to carrying out the cull of 25 deer last year, including passing a no-deer-feeding bylaw, creating a committee to manage the issue, surveying residents, and conducting a deer count.
In detailing how the cull was carried out, the report admits that the contractor was asked to cease laying traps on December 6, three days after the cull began.
"When it was apparent that a high proportion of non-target white-tailed deer were being culled, the Ministry and the City requested the cessation of trapping operations and the relocation of traps to other areas that contained higher mule deer densities," reads the report, written by Chris Zettel of the City of Cranbrook and Irene Teske of the Ministry of Forests, Land and Natural Resource Operations.
The cull recommenced on December 13 once the traps had been moved.
In all, 11 white-tailed deer and 14 mule deer were euthanized: five mule does, seven mule bucks, two mule fawns, five white-tail does, one white-tail buck, and five white-tail fawns.
According to the report, council should consider changing its objectives for any future cull to "a general population reduction of both species" because it was very difficult to trap only mule deer.
The report has been referred to the Urban Deer Management Advisory Committee, and will be available for other municipalities facing urban deer issues.
Earlier in the meeting, council also referred to the committee a letter from FJ Hurtak about the deer cull. Hurtak asked that prior to planning the next deer cull, the city consider a pilot relocation program with 12 mule deer, collaring the animals and studying whether the relocation was successful.
See the Townsman this week for more news from Monday's city council meeting.
