B.C. town considers deer contraceptive to control animals eating up gardens
OAK BAY, B.C. — Residents of a picturesque community on Vancouver Island have had enough of deer munching on their prized gardens, so a group is looking at whether birth control might help rein in the population.
Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen said the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society is trying to obtain an injectable contraceptive from the United States in an effort to curb the number of deer roaming around yards and on roads in the Victoria suburb.
He said 11 deer were killed in a cull last year, but that approach was divisive, with some residents proposing a more humane way to deal with the animals while others wanted culls to continue as a way of stopping deer from using their tulips, roses and hedges as buffets.
“It’s explosive,” Jensen said of the deer population.