Lebo deer management hunt cancelled
Santa Claus and his reindeer got a reprieve – at least for the time being – in Mt. Lebanon.
The township had planned to hold a controlled archery hunt of antlerless deer on municipal property beginning Dec. 26 and continuing through Jan. 24, its first since 2008, in order to reduce the number of car accidents caused by the animals running in front of motorists. But, township officials said Dec. 22 that the Pennsylvania Game Commission had run out of bow hunting licenses for Allegheny County, forcing the suspension of the program which would have taken place from tree stands at the Mt. Lebanon golf courses, as well as Bird, McNeilly and Rob Hollow parks. The hunt was open only to municipal employees.
“There were no antlerless tags remaining,” said police Chief Coleman McDonough.
Chief McDonough said despite the cancellation of its Deer Management Archery Program, the township still has some options to reduce its deer population – including Capture and Bolt, a harvesting program, or a sterilization program. He declined to go into detail about either plan and said the issue will likely be addressed at the Jan. 14 township meeting.
“It does not mean the commission is stepping back,” from the deer problem, said Susan Morgans, a township spokesperson. “There was only a short period of time to get this together.”