By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The overpopulation of deer and turkeys on the west side of Bowling Green is not an endearing situation – but rather an accident waiting to happen, according to a resident of West Wooster Street.
Chuck Codding asked Bowling Green City Council Monday evening to come up with a solution to the growing wildlife in residential areas.
“This is becoming a huge problem,” he said of the deer, which put holes in yards, and eat flowers and bushes. They carry ticks, which could spread Lyme Disease, and create hazards for drivers when they walk into streets, he said.
Many are so accustomed to living alongside humans that they no longer fear people, and in some cases have become aggressive toward people, Codding said. When his mother still lived in the West Wooster Street home, a deer once chased her up the steps and into the house, he said.
Children in his neighborhood are “petrified” by the deer, and most of his neighbors don’t view the wildlife as a positive feature.
“Most view them as big rats,” Codding said.
Codding said the city’s charter considers deer to be a “dangerous animal.” Motorists in the area of West Wooster Street and Haskins Road often have to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting the deer, he said.
“I’d like City Council to take this up as discussion and come up with a plan” to rid the area of deer, he said.
Codding suggested city officials study the options, with one being capturing the deer and relocating them outside the city. He offered his property for caging deer, then property he has west of the city for releasing them.
Another option, he said, would be for the police or sheriff’s officers to dispatch the deer, with the meat then going to local food pantries.
The Ottawa Hills community adopted a culling program in recent years that allowed bow hunters to kill deer in that city.
Codding said while the law doesn’t allow hunting in Bowling Green, it does allow people to defend themselves.
“I can stand my ground on my property, and if they attack me, I can defend myself against them,” he said.
“These things are becoming so tame that I think they are an issue that needs to be taken care of somehow,” Codding said.
After Monday’s council meeting, Bowling Green Public Services Director Joe Fawcett said the city gets sporadic complaints from residents about deer and turkeys on their properties.
Bowling Green Police Lt. Adam Skaff said Tuesday morning that the police division has had no internal discussions about a culling plan. “We have no plans for us to cull any wildlife,” he said.
