A recent poll conducted in Oak Bay has revealed majority of people living in the district are unhappy with the large deer population.
Just over 400 people weighed in on the issue, with 78 per cent saying they would support a deer cull.
According to Oak Bay’s mayor, a cull may be the municipality’s only option.
“We wish there were other solutions,” Nils Jensen said. “If we could translocate at a reasonable price we would clearly do that, but the province will not allow it at this point at any cost.”
He said the animals are causing a number of issues in the area.
“I spoke to a biking group where several people have been struck by deer,” Jensen said. “We saw on the Pat Bay Highway a three car accident as a result of deer. They’re causing devastation to gardens, to the environment.”
Over the last 10 years Oak Bay has seen “incredible growth” in the deer herd, Jensen added.
“We’re picking up as many as 50 dead deer a year on our streets and in our yards,” he said.
Kelly Carson has been a deer advocate for years and believes the online survey was rigged.
“It doesn’t prove where they came from or who did them,” Carson said.
But the district’s mayor said it’s the anonymity of the survey that allowed for real answers.
“People will not come to council to ask for a deer management program because the anti-cull group are loud, they’re aggressive, they hoot and they holler. Nobody wants to be subjected to that kind of abuse,” Jensen said.
A priority session will be held in Oak Bay on Friday to discuss the next steps.
With a report from CTV Vancouver Island's Louise Hartland
