Cape Girardeau City Council: Draft an ordinance to implement deer hunting

A deer hunt it is.

In a move that was widely expected, the Cape Girardeau City Council directed city staff Monday night to draft an ordinance to implement deer hunting -- not trapping the animals and euthanizing them. While many of the specifics have yet to be ironed out and council support was not unanimous, the proposal will allow qualified residents to bow hunt on private property with the owner's consent as early as this fall.

Councilman John Voss, the chief proponent of urban deer hunting, asked staff to begin work on a bill that would have to survive two votes of the full council that would give the public two more opportunities to weigh in. Voss noted that the deer have been destroying vegetation on private lawns and what he sees as a growing number of deer are lending to an uptick in automobile collisions.

"I just think this program addresses the problem more effectively and efficiently," Voss said.

With members Mark Lanzotti and Kathy Swan absent from the regular meeting Monday night, supporters other than Voss included Mayor Harry Rediger, Meg Davis Proffer and Trent Summers. Councilwoman Loretta Schneider, who proposed trapping the deer and euthanizing them, said she was disappointed in the council's direction and will not vote in favor of an urban hunt once an ordinance is prepared.

While trapping was said to be expensive and called for the use of a bolt gun, Schneider said she thought the expense was worth it.

"I feel like the controversy is major," Schneider said. "I know I'm in the minority, but I don't want to see the controversy continue and I think it will."

Four opponents to urban deer hunting attended the meeting Monday night to urge the council to consider other options. Judy Pulley has been fighting the proposal since nearly the beginning of its inception, saying that it's an inhumane method to get rid of deer. She also questioned that it has been proven that there is a problem. The council will likely vote on allowing a hunt before the results of a scheduled count this fall.

"I'm not convinced it's a citywide problem," Pulley told the council. "I have not seen herds of deer. I am just perplexed as to why we're pushing for a September hunt. ... That is a bit troubling."

City manager Scott Meyer said his next step will be to bring back a "menu" of options for the council to consider before drafting an ordinance. Voss asked Meyer and his staff members to make the ordinance create a hunt for Sept. 15 to Jan. 15, excluding the 10-day period that allows rifle hunting in the state. Voss believes the hunters should be required to carry insurance, licensed in the city and have taken the bowhunting certification class with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Voss also said it should be the hunter's prerogative whether he wants to donate the harvested meat to a local food bank and not a requirement. He also called for an annual review process that would look at the effectiveness of the program that could make tweaks, especially in the first few years. It is also important to note, he said, that written permission would have to be obtained from a property owner before a resident could bow hunt on that property.

The first seasonal hunt may not last from Sept. 15 to Jan. 15, Voss said. If the council sets a quota and hits that number beforehand, the hunt could be halted for the remainder of the season. He also recognized that not everyone was in favor of urban deer hunting. He said he did not want to "insult and frustrate" those opponents, but that he'd heard from enough citizens to feel it would be accepted.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO