N.B. town fighting to control deer problem

A picturesque East Coast tourist town is fighting to keep its deer population under control as residents deal with decimated gardens, damaged property and smelly surprises in their backyards.

St. Andrews, N.B. covers just slightly over eight square kilometres, but the community is home to around 107 deer. That’s about 13 deer per square kilometre, which is greater than the (human) population density for all of New Brunswick.

St. Andrews Mayor Doug Naish said the issue appears to be worsening over time and the four-legged pests have begun to taken over the town.

“This has been one of these things I thought I’d never have to deal with as mayor,” he said in a phone interview Sunday. “I like the deer, myself. I like looking at them. But I see that they’re problematic and that we can’t just allow them to continue to increase their population.”

St. Andrews boasts a warm climate, award-winning gardens and no natural predators — effectively creating a paradise for deer to live, eat, and reproduce.

For some residents, chasing deer from private properties has become a near-daily occurrence, with some gardeners erecting fences to keep deer from munching on their plants.

Naish said that’s a problem in a town where tourists flock to take in the lush greenery.

“We are all personally affected by the fact that we’ve got fairly large animals wandering on our streets, our sidewalks, and in our front and back lawns,” he said.

A group of five fourth-year students from the University of New Brunswick’s faculty of forestry and environmental management are helping the town tackle this issue as part of their studies.

The students looked at both lethal and non-lethal options for deer management, and are recommending a hunt and cull as the best way to deal with the infestation.

The town has had an annual bow hunt since 2016, but the students said it would be more effective when combined with a cull, where deer would be lured to a spot in town and killed.