25 deer killed in Charlevoix as part of cull, city unsure about results
CHARLEVOIX — A total of 25 antlerless deer were killed in Charlevoix on Thursday, Jan. 18 and Thursday, Jan. 25 as part of the city’s sponsored deer cull in collaboration with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
According to Charlevoix Police Chief Jill McDonnell, although the community at-large had not been notified about the cull, “six to eight” residents had given permission for the USDA to hunt the animals on their land as well as the Chicago Club.
When asked where the animals were killed, McDonnell said the culling "primarily occurred on the north side of the bridge."
“They don’t give me locations exactly," she said. "They just gave me general locations.”
Done in "the dark hours,” according to McDonnell, the cull took place over two nights. On the first night, 17 deer were killed and eight more were taken on the second night.
"They were done by midnight every night. They were gutted and taken to a processor in Boyne Falls. Certain parts were transported to the state for testing and the rest of the meat will be processed into one-pound packages and put on the shelf for MANA for Charlevoix," said McDonnell.
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When asked why the community at large wasn't notified ahead of time, McDonnell said, "We didn’t want people coming out and protesting or being looky-loos and creating more of a nuisance or creating a danger for themselves."
McDonnell said she had not received any backlash from the cull until she recently started telling people that it had occurred, since they were unaware of the events even taking place.
In terms of what future deer culling may look like, McDonnell said, “Basically now we hit reset. We have to continue to monitor the car-deer accidents and complaints to see if it is needed again.”
At the Charlevoix City Council meeting on Feb. 5, council members seemed conflicted over the results.
Mayor Lyle Gennett said he received a call from a resident on the north side saying they hadn’t seen any deer at all since the cull, however, Ward 1 Council member Janet Kalfbell said she had definitely seen deer recently in her neighborhood.
Council member Shane Cole then made a comment about the DNR saying there might not be an immediate impact, to which Ward 1 council member Aaron Hagen responded, “I think they are trying to protect their jobs and the $15,000 we shelled out.”
The city paid $15,014 for the deer cull, which is $600.56 per deer.
— Contact reporter Annie Doyle at (231) 675-0099 or adoyle@charlevoixcourier.com
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: 25 deer killed in Charlevoix as part of cull, city unsure about results
