Cranbrook 1st B.C. city with permit to kill deer
The City of Cranbrook has quietly begun killing aggressive deer that have invaded its city limits.
Officials said dozens of mule and white-tailed deer have become habituated to urban living and refuse to leave.
Cranbrook is the first municipality in B.C. to get a permit from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, the provincial agency responsible for deer control.
The current permit allows the city to kill 25 deer.
A contractor began work on the project on Dec. 6, setting and baiting 10 netted traps.
In the middle of the night, the contractor checks the traps. Any caught deer are then killed with a bolt gun similar to the tool used for killing in slaughterhouses. The deer are then butchered and given to the local food bank and Salvation Army.
As of Wednesday, 17 deer had been captured and killed under the city’s permit.
