Opponents To Mt. Lebanon Deer Culling Plan Present Petition To Commissioners
MOUNT LEBANON (KDKA) -- There was standing room only at the Mount Lebanon Commissioners meeting Tuesday evening as residents opposed to a controversial deer kill plan tried to get officials to change their minds.
In a protest before the meeting, organizers said they planned to present the board with a petition containing 3,200 signatures against the planned deer cull.
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The method calls for baiting and trapping the deer, then killing them after they are captured.
Many residents say they are worried about guns being fired in residential neighborhoods.
"I am thoroughly convinced that firing any kind of lethal weapon in an area this small with this kind of population density is a real problem," said Bill Noon, who opposes the deer kill plan.
Others are criticizing the method as cruel and inhumane to the animals.
"I think folks are just really shocked that any community in Pittsburgh would do something so inhumane and so terrifying to just to trap deer, completely slaughter them," said Leila Sleiman, another opponent to the plan. "Hunters are against this, people who live in Mount Lebanon are against this."
But others say something has to be done due to the growing population.
"All these people that want to save the deer, I'd like to invite you to my yard, catch them, take them home and you take care of them because I'm really tired of having them hang around my yard," Lourdes Castellanos, of supports the plan, said.
The municipality is waiting for approval from the Pennsylvania Game Commission on the permit application.
The commissioners have already approved the plan.
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