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Today, Kelowna City Council moved that council will forward a request to the Regional District of Central Okanagan to consider becoming a member of WildSafe BC in order to address concerns over the growing deer population.
Blair Stewart, the parks services manager, discussed the city’s options in response to the requests from the community for a deer management program.
Back in July of 2017, residents of Upper Mission put together a petition requesting a deer management program in Kelowna.
The main concern for residents was the growing population moving closer to the city and damaging people’s backyards.
The city received a copy of the petition and looked at possible options “to create and implement a plan for the control of resident deer.”
The WildSafe BC program is designed to reduce human-wildlife conflict through education. The program does not include practices such as deer culling, which was said to be ineffective in other communities.
Stewart said that deer are protected under the Wildlife Act, and therefore local governments are not authorized to conduct deer management programs without approval.
Council was in agreement that deer management is a provincial government responsibility, especially when it comes to forest management in interface areas and current hunting regulations.
Over the past two years, the city has received a total of 61 service requests related to urban deer concerns. In 2017, there was 32 requests. The bulk of the requests were made from residents in the areas of Dilworth Mountain, Knox Mountain, and south Mission.
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