Pittsburgh looks to expand deer culling program to 3 more parks

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The city of Pittsburgh plans to expand its deer culling program to three more parks after it said the trial run was successful. 

The city partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture to manage the overpopulation of white-tailed deer in parks. Left unchecked, leaders said the unmanaged deer population was over-eating native plants and colliding with vehicles. 

The USDA recommended that the city adopt an integrated approach to deer management which included a controlled archery hunt. The city said other options like birth control and castration aren't legal in Pennsylvania. 

Thirty archers from across Allegheny County participated in the program from Sept. 30 and Jan. 27, culling 108 deer in Frick and Riverview parks. Fifty-nine of those were donated to local food banks, creating 9,440 meals.

Because of the success, the city plans on expanding the program to include Schenley, Emerald View and Highland parks.  

"I've heard from residents from all across the city about their concerns with the growing number of deer and the impact they are having in our parks," said Mayor Ed Gainey. "Thanks to the hard work of our Park Rangers, and the collaboration with the USDA, this program was a tremendous success."

The city said its strict participation standards -- requiring background checks, wildlife violation checks and a "rigorous" archery proficiency test -- helped with the program's success and resulted in no public safety incidents.