TEGA CAY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — More deer will be in the crosshairs in Tega Cay.
On Tuesday night the City Council approved on a split vote to continue its deer culling operation, seeking to kill 80 more from the local population. In the first round that began last fall, city leaders reported that 80 have been killed, and another 200 sterilized.
Mayor Chris Gray — also a voting member of the board — was against spending more money on the process, but the council members in favor noted how successful the operation has been. The new contract is worth $35,000.
“We have to spend money to get results, otherwise then there’s no point to continue a program that doesn’t get results, or were looking to doing this five, seven, 10 years down the road,” said Carmen Miller. “If we yank the Band-Aid now, we’re actually proactively getting to fix a problem rather than doing what’s been done before, which is allowing it keep growing.”
Councilman Brian Carter thinks what already has been accomplished is sufficient, but he and Carter were edged in the 3-2 vote.
“I understand there are still people who still have issues with deer in their area of Tega Cay. ‘For those residents, I do want to say ‘I’m sorry and it’s rough,’” Carter said. “We’ve already culled 80 deer. There’s been 200 deer sterilized. Through attrition, naturally, there’s been 230 deer that have died over last 12 months. That’s a lot of deer that have been taken out or have been touched. That’s essentially half the population of deer. I think next year will be much better.”
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources approved the city’s permit to pursue another operation on Jan. 16. The funds will come from the city’s contingency funds.
In November, it was estimated that Tega Cay had between 800 and 1,000 deer or 27 per 15 acres for the Lake Wylie community.
Miller emphasized that the thought of killing more wildlife made her uncomfortable.
“I am not joyful about the thought of voting to cull more deer. It’s not a joyful experience,” she said.
The second round of culling is expected to begin in the spring.
