Doe woes: Tega Cay still overrun by deer despite ordinance
Even after recent efforts to stop them, hundreds of deer are still roaming through the streets of Tega Cay.
Channel 9 reported months ago when the city passed a new ordinance asking neighbors to stop feeding the deer. City officials had hoped that would reduce the population.
“They’re going to have to remove some deer,” said Michael Plummer. “They’re gonna seriously have to remove some deer.”
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Tuesday, neighbors tell Channel 9′s Tina Terry that the plan isn’t working.
We saw it ourselves, capturing video of a herd of deer searching for food in a neighbor’s yard. They weren’t even intimidated by our camera.
Plummer says the new ordinance aimed at stopping feeding hasn’t had an effect.
“I know a few people who were feeding them that aren’t feeding them anymore, and it hasn’t made any major change,” Plummer said. “There’s just too many deer.”
The city’s deputy manager explained in an email to Channel 9 that, “The thought behind it is by reducing the food sources, the deer would naturally reproduce at a lower level to fit within the available food resources.”
Another neighbor, Coleen Caravello, says she’s stopped feeding the deer in her yard.
“I don’t think it’s fair to the deer who are used to the food and still looking for it,” Caravello said. “I’m following the rules, but I don’t think they’re right.”
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The city says it plans to conduct studies in the spring and fall to determine if the ordinance has impacted the deer population. If not, the council could look at other options to cut the numbers.
With the city of Tega Cay laying at just over three square miles, the last study found there are just shy of 350 deer per square mile.
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