“I’m 100 percent behind this.”
Grand Haven councilman Kevin McLaughlin says because the overpopulation of hungry deer are damaging parks, cemeteries and forests in the city, some of them have got to go.”
“We have to take care of it. We have to do it.”
Drone flights and other surveillance estimate the deer population in Grand Haven at over 150 animals. City manager Ashley Latsch says the cull will reduce but not eliminate the herd.
“Not to exceed 40 percent or 50 individual deer annually’
That may still leave Grand Haven what some experts consider an unsustainably large number of deer. Mayor Bob Monetza says it is a start.
“It didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t be fixed overnight. So, we will have to be a little bit patient, but we will get there.”
And Councilman Michael Fritz says it would help if people didn’t make the deer feel so welcome in the city.
“People, please stop feeding them. There’re people out there that are still feeding them. You can enjoy looking at them but don’t feed them.”