Tega Cay officials continue work on deer population with new community survey
TEGA CAY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Tega Cay neighbors were sent a 22-question survey to manage the city’s deer population. It asks people general questions about their feelings toward the deer, including whether the deer has caused any damage or raised concerns.
Mary Ickert with the Wildlife Conservation Society says she’s much happier now with how the city is responding to the problem.
“I think for a long time, residents felt like the city was trying to push through these super fast, quick, knee-jerk reactions, hence the calling. And now they’re taking the time to do this. And we really hope to see that people know that our city does care and they are listening to us,” Ickert said.
The city has been working on this project since 2022. Council members were briefed on the culling results in February. An initial $163,000 was allotted for the wildlife management program to kill 75 to 300 deer.
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On Dec. 18, the Department of Natural Resources approved the culling of 160 deer by March 1. But officials say the quick turnaround to set up logistics and safety protocols only allowed them to kill less than 40 deer in that time.
“We weren’t that surprised that the numbers were that low. And we certainly hope that is the last time we see sharpshooters in our area,” Ickert said.
The society hopes the survey results lean toward non-lethal methods of decreasing the population. One hypothetical question asked for neighbors: “Assuming the city has $500,000 allocated for non-essential discretionary programs this year, how much of this budget would you be willing to allocate to a wildlife management program?”
Ickert believes that some of the money could be spent on wildlife education.
“We understand that there are people who are suffering from landscape damage, and I’d love to see some of that money go towards them, you know, have them free deer resistant plants or help give them money to help them better, you know, deer proof their fences. So, it’s not just non-lethal. We want to be able to help everyone that’s affected,” she said.
Neighbors have until April 29 to complete the survey.
“What we would like to see is that people are doing their due diligence this time and that residents are taking the time to go to the city’s website. There’s a section on there now all about deer management, deer education, workshops, and all the presentations that have been taking place since all of this really started,” she said.
Ickert says the Tega Cay Wildlife Conservation Society stands on the side of science and community involvement and they hope that the council will make decisions for all who call Tega Cay home. Members stand for any non-lethal, no-kill approaches.
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