Kinder to urge reconsideration of urban deer hunting in Cape

Seven years ago, Cape Girardeau voters rejected an urban hunt to thin the herd of deer within city limits.

Former Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, a city resident, thinks the matter should be revisited.

He intends to approach the Cape Girardeau City Council soon, perhaps as early as the panel's next meeting, to urge reconsideration.

"My concern is the deer population (in Cape Girardeau) has exploded," Kinder said, pointing out other Missouri cities and towns have authorized deer hunts.

"I have counted more than two dozen deer feeding in an evening," he added, "and a hunt will restore some balance to the ecosystem."

A 2011 story in the Southeast Missourian revealed municipally permitted hunting for whitetail deer in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia and Jefferson City.

The Cape Girardeau City Council approved creation of an archery hunting program in July 2012 by a 4-3 vote but 4,000 signatures were soon gathered to protest the move.

When the council did not choose to repeal the hunting ordinance, the matter went before Cape Girardeau voters in an April 2013 referendum, resulting in a 1,485-1,279 vote to roll back the decision by a margin of 53.7% to 46.3%.

The result marked the first time in the city's history an ordinance was repealed by plebiscite.

"We need another debate and another vote," said Kinder, adding the 2013 repeal "did not settle the matter for all time."

No sitting City Council members were serving at the time of the deer hunt revocation vote.

"I am open to looking at this issue again," said Bob Fox, Cape Girardeau's mayor since 2018, noting he would be heavily influenced by wildlife management experts from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

"(MDC) can tell you about overpopulation (of deer) and what it means," Fox added, noting he recently saw a half dozen deer in his front yard.

Fox said three deer struck his car in 2019 -- two on Brookwood Drive and one on Bertling Street.

City manager Scott Meyer remembers the council's 2012 decision to permit deer hunting and the 2013 voter reversal quite well.

"If council thinks it's a good idea, we'd be willing as City Hall staff to look at it again," said Meyer, the longest serving municipal manager in Cape Girardeau history who is scheduled to retire in 2021.

"We did a lot of work back then to put together a program with MDC we thought was a safe way to manage the deer population," he said, noting the city looked at alternatives to hunting.

"We did look into a 'catching' program, using drones to track (deer) habits and movements and nets to capture them," Meyer said.

Once caught, he said, the deer could be relocated or humanely euthanized.

"The 'catching' plan we looked into would have come at a high cost financially, however," Meyer said.

MDC's conservation agent for Cape Girardeau County, Ben Stratton, took part in the investigation into deer density in 2012, saying the department's wildlife division conducted a "spotlight survey."

"We took spotlights and went on two routes through Cape -- one near the university on Bertling and Sprigg streets and West End Boulevard, the other along Mount Auburn," Stratton said.

"We counted the deer and extrapolated the number out mathematically to predict deer density," he added.

Kinder said he would be highly influenced by "expert witnesses from MDC," something "we didn't have last time," he added.

"The deer have lost their fear of people (in town)," he said, "(and) it is reasonable and necessary to thin the herd."

The Cape Girardeau City Council next meets Oct. 19.

"Science and conservation biology are on our side," Kinder said, adding, "a silent majority will be heard on this."