Officials to pursue public hunt and ask wildlife authorites to cull
Fillmore City council members agreed last week to petition Utah wildlife authorities for permission to host a public hunt.
The measure is meant to reduce the population of in-city resident deer, which have become a growing nuisance to some homeowners.
The city council had previously heard a presentation showing that a similar effort in Oak City had a desired impact for residents there.
There was some discussion about whether it would be safer to simply ask wildlife officials to cull the city’s herd themselves instead of allowing bow hunting inside city limits.
Officials said the city would likely get up to 12 doe tags, which would be distributed to hunters through a draw. Archery hunting is open to kids as young as 12 years old in Utah. And the people who win the tags aren’t required to live in the city.
Councilman Kyle Monroe said he inquired with Oak City officials—the town hosts a public hunt similar to what Fillmore envisions—and he was told they have had “zero issues” with the endeavor so far.
“The people who have been involved with it a little bit just said it’s super easy, people that are willing to let you hunt in the backyard or whatever… that’s part of the stipulation for this,” he said.
Councilman Eric Jenson said he favored a hunt because, as a wildlife officer previously told the council, just the hunt itself could pressure deer to leave the area, thus reducing the resident population.
Monroe said he was in favor because the deer problem has gotten bad.
“I think with this it’s going to be a little bit better scenario, where it’s going to be a doe hunt…it’s just limited to the resident does,” Monroe said. “I personally am in favor of it. I think it would be something, I know it’s a nuisance to a lot of people, but I also know some people don’t mind. I think as a city, we have a little bit of a problem, especially in some areas of town.”
Councilman Mike Winget and Councilman Dennis Alldredge agreed that one hunt would likely not put much of a dent in the city’s deer population.
Another issue is the city has missed the window for applying for a permit to host a hunt. This means the earliest one could take place is August 2024. Alldredge said he’d like to petition wildlife authorities to cull the herd themselves, while still planning for a future hunt.
“I felt like they (wildlife officials) felt more comfortable with the archery than them using guns in city limits, because there is that opportunity for something not to go right,” Monroe commented.
After the discussion concluded, Winget made a motion that the city petition DWR for permission to host a public hunt. He also motioned that the city request DWR provide assistance removing some deer during 2023.
Jenson seconded the item and it passed unanimously.