Richmond Municipal Council received a reply about the growing deer population from the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables.
On January 12, Deputy Warden Shawn Samson said municipal staff had a meeting with DNRR representatives Elizabeth Walsh and Jason Power, as well as Richmond MLA Trevor Boudreau. One item discussed was the cost of conducting a survey of the deer population, he noted.
During last night’s regular monthly meeting in Arichat, council agreed to a motion to authorize municipal staff to investigate the cost of a survey. Chief Administraive Officer Troy MacCulloch said the estimate to conduct a pellet survey, which provides estimates on deer density, is less than $10,000. The approved motion also requested that staff contact the NSCC Strait Area Campus to inquire how the Natural Resource Environmental Technology program can assist the municipality. MacCulloch said the municipality is hoping to find a student in the local program to provide them with data.
District 3 Councillor Melanie Sampson this option might be provided at no cost if they can find a graduating student looking for a five-week work placement. During the committee of the whole session on October 10, the Deputy Warden said he received “numerous calls” about the large numbers of deer in Isle Madame.
Samson said some people are counting 35 deer during short drives. He said vehicle-deer collisions are so common, insurance companies are getting involved, even offering to write letters of support to the DNRR to seek solutions. Samson said this is an issue as extreme weather has forced many residents to take out insurance claims for their homes, due to damage from floods, heavy rainfall, and gale force winds.
Warden Amanda Mombourquette agreed at the time that the situation is “becoming a safety concern.” Samson said he wants to see what the DNRR is doing elsewhere in Nova Scotia to “fix this problem,” noting there are doe hunts in other parts of the province which have helped control the deer population.