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Deputy chief outlines culling, contractor limits and urban-archery options to control Roanoke deer
Summary
Deputy Chief Crowley told council the city contracts deer-culling work but faces contractor timing and supply limits, and proposed supplementing contractors with 6–8 sworn officers and exploring an urban-archery program requiring state approval and local ordinance work.
Deputy Chief Crowley briefed the council Aug. 3 on the city's deer-management work, saying long-term declines in hunters and interruptions to culling (including a three-year lapse during COVID) have contributed to deer population growth and rising complaints about vegetation damage and public-health concerns. He said the city has used a contractor for culling since 2013 but that over the last two years only a small set of qualified contractors bid for work and that the current contractor limits operations to January.
Crowley proposed supplementing contractor work with a city-led program using six to eight trained sworn officers to start culling earlier in the season, respond to specific neighborhood complaints and better coordinate with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. He also described urban-archery programs used elsewhere and noted such programs require state permission and a locally tailored ordinance. "Just to be clear, they're not our deer. The deer are they belong to the state," Crowley said, adding the state regulates harvest timing and processing; harvested meat typically goes through the Hunters for the Hungry program and state-funded processing.
