Oak Bay has elected to pursue a form of deer management that is less divisive and less effective than a cull.
Oak Bay has elected to pursue a form of deer management that is less divisive and less effective than a cull.
Council has passed a resolution to apply for a $20-thousand dollar grant from the province, which would then be matched by the municipality and put toward a fertility control plan.
Mayor Nils Jensen says the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society would guide the process, in which an undetermined number of deer would be injected with a contraceptive serum that could potentially prevent them from breeding for a period up to five years.
A deer cull was conducted in Oak Bay last year, resulting in eleven of the animals being trapped and killed. A residents survey recently released indicated seventy per cent of respondents acknowledged there's a deer problem in Oak Bay, while sixty per cent were in favour of another cull.