Town & Country officials give final approval to deer management contract

Town & Country officials have given final approval to a contract with a company to provide deer management services within the municipality beginning this fall.

The Town & Country Board of Aldermen at its June 8 meeting unanimously approved a contract between the city and White Buffalo, Inc. The company will receive up to $149,850 from the city to perform both innovative, non-lethal deer sterilization and lethal sharp-shooting to manage the municipal deer population.

The contract states that the provider, Anthony DeNicola, of White Buffalo, will capture with drop nets and remote darts up to 100 female deer, which will be surgically sterilized by a licensed veterinarian. All sterilized animals will be fitted with livestock ear tags and one mature doe in each matrilineal group will be radio-collared to facilitate future management efforts. The sterilized, marked animals then will be released.

The contract also calls for killing by sharp-shooting up to 100 unmarked deer, which includes up to 15 antlered deer. The contract further states that the provider can shoot deer by daylight or night with the use of bait and a stationary vehicle. 

The contract states the deer management activities will occur only on public, city-owned lands as authorized by the city and/or other Town & Country public or private lands for which the city has the consent of those landowners and some of their neighbors. 

The contract, which begins Oct. 1 and expires April 15, 2010, requires the provider to notify the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) officer when and where capture, sterilization and euthanization activities are scheduled. It requires the provider to notify the city and MDC by voice mail each day sharp-shooting will occur. 

“I’m fine with the voice mail notification each day of sharp-shooting because of weather and other factors,” said Joel Porath, of the MDC.

In addition, the contract requires the provider to give 24 hours notice to each consenting property owner or tenant and all neighbors within 50 yards of the sharp-shooting location. Such notice is a safety element, said Town & Country Mayor Jon Dalton. 

Some residents say all Town & Country residents should be notified of such details.

Porath said the sharp-shooting will be safely conducted by experienced, trained professionals using suppressed gun shots. 

“But I understand there is a fear of the unknown,” Porath said. 

Residents had also expressed concerns, such as possible night killing and killing of antlered deer. Porath said those animals will be killed only if they disturb bait traps during the program.

In addition, residents expressed concerns about the possible combination of the sterilization process with the killing phase. The contract requires the provider to attempt to complete 70 percent of the sterilization phase before the killing phase. 

While the contract requires the provider to keep data and submit written deer management activity reports to the city, it does not include any provisions for public viewing of the deer management activities in the field. 

However, Town & Country resident Mariette Palmer and several other citizens said they have the right to monitor the taxpayer-funded, government deer management program in the field.

“Anything that is tax-funded must be open to the public,” Palmer said.

She and several residents said that at least one independent observer is needed to confirm that the provider observed proper protocols in all deer management procedures, including treating and killing the authorized number of deer in an authorized manner. 

Porath said he hopes MDC officials will be in the field monitoring up to 80 percent of White Buffalo’s deer management activities. He also said he wants to ensure the deer management activities are not disrupted by outsiders.

Dalton agreed. 

“We need to balance the public’s right to know with city’s interest in implementing an effective program,” Dalton said. 

While Dalton said public viewing of the deer management activities in the field is not necessarily prohibited, citizens must adhere to trespassing laws when the deer management activities are occurring on private properties. Palmer said citizens still have the right to view the activities.

“Even though the activities may occur on private property, the property owner is still hosting a public, tax-funded activity, which must be open to all residents,” Palmer said.

Dalton also said citizens cannot legally interfere with the program but officials have not specifically defined what constitutes such interference. 

“We hope a reasonable person understands and complies with the ordinance as written,” Dalton said. “We cannot script out everything in black and white ahead of time. That would be left to the courts to determine.”

Dalton said a city staff person will oversee DeNicola’s deer management activities. 

Dalton also announced his intent to appoint a Deer Herd Management Program Implementation Task Force, comprised of at least five people, including citizens and board members. Several residents said they want to ensure the task force is comprised of citizens and board members who reflect diverse views. 

The contract binds the provider to cooperate with that task force and all other city officials during implementation of the program, Dalton said.

“Ultimately, the city is responsible for ensuring the provider is following the proper protocols and adhering to the contract,” Dalton said. 

The next step is to finalize the contract with White Buffalo after which the task force will meet this summer with city officials and White Buffalo to prepare to implement the program to begin this fall.