TOWN AND COUNTRY, MO (KTVI-FOX2Now.com) -
There will soon be gunfire in Town and Country. After months of debate, and more than two dozen meetings, aldermen approved a measure Monday night to tackle what many believe is an out of control deer population. The compromise package will utilize two very different strategies to eliminate deer.
In the short term, a firm will be hired to bring in sharpshooters to kill some of the animals, and engage in what's hoped to be a noticeable thinning of the herd.
At the same time, another group will begin sterilizing does. That effort is likely to take a few years to become effective, but the hope is it will eventually eliminate the need for shooting the animals.
Monday afternoon on Thornfield Lane, near Clayton Road, a FOX 2 crew encountered about a dozen deer. They crossed the street, then began grazing in the yard of a house currently on the market for $1.2 million. Residents say it was not an unusual sight.
"Usually there's like three or four," Katie Ward says. " Probably because it's near night time or near morning, about the time they feed." The young girl was out playing with her friends, and asked if she knows a lot about deer, she nonchalantly said, "yeah.."
Residents say the lack of fear in the animals is a big part of the problem. Before the Board of Aldermen voted, resident Mike Vargo told them the area is becoming unsafe.
"We see it extremely dangerous living here. My wife and I have now hit three deer on Mason Valley or Mason Road. We have totaled one car. Last year it cost me $4-thousand for mine. Basically what we're doing is bludgeoning the little rascals to death."
The program is scheduled to begin in the Fall. One part of the package of ordinances passed could cause problems down the road. It prohibits interfering with deer control projects. An attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union tells FOX2 they'll look at that measure to make sure it's not specifically targeting protestors.
In the short term, a firm will be hired to bring in sharpshooters to kill some of the animals, and engage in what's hoped to be a noticeable thinning of the herd.
At the same time, another group will begin sterilizing does. That effort is likely to take a few years to become effective, but the hope is it will eventually eliminate the need for shooting the animals.
Monday afternoon on Thornfield Lane, near Clayton Road, a FOX 2 crew encountered about a dozen deer. They crossed the street, then began grazing in the yard of a house currently on the market for $1.2 million. Residents say it was not an unusual sight.
"Usually there's like three or four," Katie Ward says. " Probably because it's near night time or near morning, about the time they feed." The young girl was out playing with her friends, and asked if she knows a lot about deer, she nonchalantly said, "yeah.."
Residents say the lack of fear in the animals is a big part of the problem. Before the Board of Aldermen voted, resident Mike Vargo told them the area is becoming unsafe.
"We see it extremely dangerous living here. My wife and I have now hit three deer on Mason Valley or Mason Road. We have totaled one car. Last year it cost me $4-thousand for mine. Basically what we're doing is bludgeoning the little rascals to death."
The program is scheduled to begin in the Fall. One part of the package of ordinances passed could cause problems down the road. It prohibits interfering with deer control projects. An attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union tells FOX2 they'll look at that measure to make sure it's not specifically targeting protestors.
