LUNENBURG — Walt Disney would be horrified.

Lunenburg town councillors want a deer cull as part of efforts to cut back the area’s flourishing deer population.

"We’re not talking about inviting a hundred crazy hunters out of the blue and telling them to solve the problem," said Coun. Jamie Myra, but having professionals do the job in a concerted, planned manner.

He knows some people are going to be upset by the idea, but deer carrying ticks infected with Lyme disease pose a health hazard and there’s a safety concern on roads and highways. "People have to see it is a health and safety issue and that comes before the whole Bambi thing."

Mr. Myra had nine deer in his backyard the other day, and he lives right in the centre of town. His children play in the garden every day and he’s concerned they are at increased risk of contracting Lyme disease.

Coun. Heather-Anne Getson knows first-hand the dangers of deer wandering around in town. Her windshield shattered, spraying glass into her car, when she hit one a couple of years ago. It happened in the middle of the afternoon on Kissing Bridge Road, near Lunenburg Academy.

Ms. Getson said she didn’t even realize she’d hit a deer until a few seconds after it smashed into her car, in which her mother and daughter were passengers. "It somersaulted in the air and kept going," but left a strip of fur and blood across her car and a very shaken driver.

Tony Nette is with the wildlife division of the Natural Resources Department. He says there are 200 cases of deer colliding with vehicles every year in Lunenburg County, and that’s just the reported cases.

"They have a problem," he agreed.

"The only way we’re going to solve this problem is to cull them out," said Coun. Robert Parks. "We’ve got to put the pressure on for a cull."

Coun. Don Tufts agreed, saying the problem is just going to get worse.

"We’ve got to find a way to insist the deer herd be thinned out."

More deer are bagged in Lunenburg County than anywhere else in the province, said Mr. Nette. Hunters shot 590 deer in 2006, the most recent year for which figures are available, compared to 223 three years earlier.

The deer population is so great the province created a mini-zone for deer hunting that runs from Chester into Queens County and increased the number of deer that people can shoot in that area.

"This is a unique area," Mr. Nette said. The habitat is perfect for deer. "It’s a bedroom community," he said, with subdivisions springing up in previously rural areas. Deer don’t like deep forest, so they come out of the woods to feed on expansive lawns and gardens where they are safe from coyotes.

He said the herd may not be growing in numbers, but more animals may be moving into populated areas because of the easy food.

The department is trying to encourage hunters to take antlerless deer instead of bucks, because that would have the greatest impact on cutting the population growth, but figures show hunters still take more bucks.

"We are looking at taking that option away," Mr. Nette said.

He said the department is developing regulatory changes that will come into effect next year.

"We are looking at changes to the regulations which would enhance the number of deer taken but reduce the number of hunters that come into an area," he said, including permitting the hunting of antlerless deer only — the does and mature fawns.

"Our long-term plan is to decrease the herd size," Mr. Nette said.

A cull poses problems, he said. The department increased the number of tags to 1,000 in 2005 in an effort to cut the herd, "but then we saw a lot of enforcement problems." Mr. Nette said hunters came into Lunenburg County from outside the area and were hunting too close to homes and schools because they weren’t familiar with the territory.

There is no simple solution, Mr Nette said. A cull won’t work partly for safety reasons, and partly because up to 500 deer would have to be shot every year, year after year. Also, "they get smart real fast," and turn into nocturnal animals, hiding in safe places during the day.

Millions of dollars have been spent developing contraceptives that work, but there is no system to get them into the deer.

The first step in dealing with this problem is for residents to stop feeding them and putting out bird feeders. "They love that high octane bird seed," but he said none of the wildlife needs the food.

Lunenburg is considering a bylaw to ban the feeding of wildlife but wants first to talk with Truro about how its bylaw is working.

The town is also considering working with the District of Lunenburg for designated feeders, but Mr Nette said that won’t work, either.

"That’s self-defeating. Feeding them just enhances the population."

Targeting female deer is the only way to address overpopulation long term, he said.

( bware@herald.ca)