Mt. Lebanon Commissioners Approve 2 Methods For Deer Culling

MOUNT LEBANON (KDKA) -- The deer density dilemma and how to reduce their population in Mount Lebanon is an issue that continues to be debated in that South Hills community.

On Tuesday night, the Mount Lebanon Board of Commissioners voted on a plan to try to cull the deer herds in an effort to reduce deer-vehicle accidents.

An archery program passed 4-1, a sharpshooter program passed 3-2, and a sterilization plan is also being pursued, but state approval is needed before that plan can go any further.

Commissioners first heard from a Humane Society official who recommended sterilizing female deer through surgical procedures.

The Humane Society favors the experimental plan because it's a non-lethal way of controlling the whitetail deer problem. It would be funded, at least in part, by a non-profit foundation.

Officials also got details on a deer sharpshooter program, involving hunters driving around in mobile units. With the approval though, the hunters can only shot from fixed locations.

Meanwhile, the bow hunting would be conducted on private property with the owner's permission and in four municipal parks, and use police officers, not hunters.

The program would run Monday through Friday, and not on weekends.

Now that it's been given the green light, the controlled archery hunt could start as early as Sept. 19.

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