Mt. Lebanon to harvest deer
Santa Claus and his reindeer might want to steer clear of Mt. Lebanon the day after Christmas.
The township will hold a controlled archery hunt of deer on municipal property, beginning Dec. 26. and continuing through Jan. 24. The hunt is an effort to reduce the number car accidents in the township caused by deer.
The program, dubbed the Mt. Lebanon Deer Management Archery Program, will be conducted by a group of volunteer licensed bow hunters who are also regular township employees, according to police Chief Coleman McDonough. Participants will be selected based on their ability to meet various qualifying criteria as well as an archery proficiency test.
The archers must have a valid hunting and archery license. Participants will be required to undergo both a background check and a check to see if they have had any previous violations with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. In addition,they must have successfully completed the online National Bow Hunter Education Foundation safety course, as well as field test within a year of becoming a member of the foundation.
“We have an overabundance of deer in Mt. Lebanon,” McDonough said. “The number of car crashes related to deer is also under reported. People don’t always file a report because they don’t want their insurance rates to go up.”
“Our officers are out there 24 hours a day,” he said. “I invite people take a ride at 3 a.m., they’ll see plenty of deer.”
The deer hunt will take place at the township’s golf course, as well as Bird, McNeilly and Robb Hollow parks, according to the township website. Notices will be placed throughout the township to let residents know where hunting is taking place. Officials will also use television, newspapers and social media to notify residents.
Hunting will be in accordance with state game laws and will take place in elevated tree stands, a safety precaution to ensure that hunters will be directing their arrows toward the ground. Permanent tree stands and stalking of deer are prohibited.
As another safety precaution, all arrows will be marked with a specific identification code to ensure every arrow used in the hunt can be tracked. Hunters will be directed to take “high probability” shots, according to McDonough. Lastly, all wounded animals will be tracked and killed. If a wounded deer wanders onto private property, the township police need to be contacted to confirm the property owner’s consent to enter the property.
Only white-tailed deer will be harvested. Before an archer can harvest an antlered deer, he must have harvested a doe. Hunters must keep a log of kills, including the date and time and disposition of the animal. Hunters are encouraged to donate harvested animals to local food shelters.