The city of Syracuse is planning to expand its deer management plan by utilizing a trap and euthanize method, in addition to using sharpshooters from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cull deer overpopulation in certain parts of the city.
The city has used sharpshooters in parts of the city for the last five years. But there are limits to where the sharpshooters can go into parks and neighborhoods.
Now, the city will employ a new strategy to lure deer to the areas where sharpshooters can’t go. as part of the deer culling program. Greg Loh, Chief Policy Officer for the Walsh Administration, says a new strategy will lure deer to areas where sharpshooters are not permitted.
"We are proposing to introduce a trap and euthanize pilot program at selected sites in the city that continue to experience the very high deer population,” said Greg Loh, chief policy officer for the city. “That's because we have not been able to identify sites in those areas even with the urban deer management pilot where we're able to conduct work by firearm."
Loh says with this new method, bait will be placed in some areas to lure the deer.
“The wildlife manager who is on standby in the area receives an alert from a cellular wireless camera and responds to the site immediately,” Loh said. “They're trained to collapse that trap manually and to euthanize the deer immediately.”
Between December 2023 and March 2024, the city was able to remove 109 deer from neighborhoods on the city’s south, east, and west sides. Loh said that’s up from the year before, due to new state legislation that allows more areas to be targeted. He expects adding more sites will continue to reduce the number of deer, cutting down on car/deer accidents, property damage issues, and the spread of tick-borne diseases.
The most recent culling provided over 2,000 pounds of venison to local food pantries, equivalent to more than 8,600 meals.
