GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Neighbors of Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary are fed up with all the deer in the area and the city is considering letting bow hunters do something about it.
You can almost always see deer inside one fenced-in exhibit at the sanctuary, but it’s the growing amount being seen outside those bounds that have neighbors calling for action.
“I’m not a hunter,” said Kathy Lefebvre, a Green Bay Alder.
“I don’t believe in just going out and shooting them, but we have to cull the herd.”
Lefebvre has lived across the street from the Wildlife Sanctuary for 48 years. She never saw a deer outside the park until 7 or 8 years ago. Now, she tells FOX 11 she sees herds of them.
“What they are doing is they’re just devastating our yards, but not just that. There have been several killed, hit by cars. They come in and eat things they don’t even like because they are hungry. There is too many.”
“Right now, I would agree there is an excessive amount of deer at the Wildlife Sanctuary and in the neighborhood as a whole,” said Dan Distcheit, Green Bay Parks Director.
Ditscheit has been gathering information to present to the city’s parks committee to decide whether the sanctuary should be included in the city’s deer management program.
He will present the information at the committee’s meeting tonight at 5 p.m.
“I believe there is about 60 or 65 locations throughout the city with about 70 hunters.”
The full city council would have the final say on whether there should be a hunt. It would sign off on details like when and where it would be allowed.
“The sanctuary is a very large area, so we would pick locations where it would be safe for people to bow hunt and safe for the public,” said Ditscheit.
“My neighbors really feel it’s their responsibility to control the deer,” said Lefebvre. “They’re furious of what’s going on.”
The city’s parks committee could make a recommendation for the full council tonight.
One potential concern that has been brought up is the 4K Kindergarten program located at the sanctuary. State law prevents bow or gun hunting within 1,000 feet of a school. The city says it is working with the school district on what it would be comfortable with if a hunt moves forward.
Anyone interested in joining the city’s deer management program is asked to contact the wildlife sanctuary.
