Tuesday night's topic of choice at Charlottesville City Council was the dangers of a booming deer population. But not everyone is convinced that population is a problem.
Council did agree on a few things when it came to dealing with deer in city limits. All of them seemed to want to check out the numbers and see just what Charlottesville is up against with these animals. And none of them wanted to use a lethal method to decrease the population.
A number of people sent emails to councilors and came out to speak Tuesday night, including a representative from the state humane society. Overall, the message was there are other ways to handle deer than killing them off.
A report presented Tuesday night suggested the full gamut of options, from police sharp shooters and urban archery to contraception methods. But the mayor stressed that council is not interested in doing anything lethal to control deer in the city.
Melinda Baumann, who lives in Charlottesville and is against lethal methods to control deer, said, "I'm an animal lover. I don't want to see any deer hurt over something where humans are encroaching on perhaps their territory."
Councilor Dede Smith even sported her husband's repellant method that looked a lot like a mechanical bird. All councilors were also in favor of some sort of education about deer management for the community and a means of surveying neighbors about the issue.
The head of one Charlottesville-area community said it was too controversial in his neck of the woods to go on camera about it. He said neighbors have brought doctors, lawyers, even their weapons to kill off the deer, to meetings to make their point on either side of the issue.
