Feb 12, 2015 By Nick Lewandowski 3 min read

Mt. Lebanon is poised to expand its planned deer cull to Twin Hills Park and the conservation district near Connor Road, as well as certain private properties, even as some residents took to the street in protest.

Residents opposed to the cull gathered outside the municipal building on Washington Road prior to the Feb. 10 commission meeting, brandishing signs emblazoned with slogans such as “stop the deer slaughter.” They insist Mt. Lebanon’s deer problem is an issue that has been manufactured by disgruntled gardeners.

“We have no idea how many deer are in this community,” resident Barbara Sollenberger said. “We found 342 with a forward-looking infrared area survey in 2013. The same survey found 196 a year later. The fact is 2 percent of automobile accidents involve deer. What are we doing about the other 98 percent?”

Opponents have accused the contractor supervising the cull, Wildlife Services, of a conflict of interest. The firm served as the municipality’s deer management consultant, and submitted the sole bid to conduct the trap-and-bolt program, despite never having employed the method. Wildlife Services has agreed to trap 150 deer at a price of $500 per deer, for a maximum cost of $75,000.

Mt. Lebanon’s solicitor, Phil Weis, has said the contract was bid in accordance with all applicable laws.

Under the trap and bolt method, deer would be lured into large corrals, trapped and then systematically killed with sound-suppressed firearms. Public works superintendent Rudy Sukal, who is working with Wildlife Services to manage the cull, said expanding the number of trap sites is intended to improve the program’s probability of success. He said the sites under consideration showed signs of substantial deer activity.

A majority of commissioners felt comfortable with expanding the program.

“My feeling is we should be conservative,” commission president John Bendel said. “Properties we have questions about, we should remove from the list. We can always revisit those in the future after getting more information.”

Kelly Fraasch, who opposes lethal deer management strategies, questioned whether the large corral traps (which are six-sided and 8 feet tall) would be a nuisance to neighbors if placed on private property.

Municipal manager Steve Feller said that was an issue the commission could address at its discretion. None of the other commissioners voiced interest in taking up the issue.

Crucially, Mt. Lebanon has yet to actually receive a permit from the Pennsylvania Game Commission to conduct its cull. It remains unclear how the Game Commission will view the trap-and-bolt method, in light of what many see as its pro-hunting bias.