City believes public education possible solution to deer problem

Kelowna city council is hoping public education will help mitigate the growing urban deer problem.

Council is forwarding a request to the Regional District of Central Okanagan to consider becoming a member of Wild Safe BC, an education program designed to reduce human-wildlife conflict.

There has been an increase in service requests related to urban deer concerns in the past two years in Kelowna, council heard Monday.

In 2015, there were six requests, rising to 29 in 2016 and 32 in 2017.

The majority of requests come from areas such as Dilworth Mountain, Knox Mountain and the south Mission area, said Blair Stewart, parks services manager.

Most concerns are related to landscape damage on private property, but there have been a couple of cases of aggression toward pets.

Complaints seem to increase in the winter when food is scarce, said Stewart.

City staff have contacted the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources, the BCSPCA and several municipalities to gather information to learn from their experiences, said Stewart.

He added staff believe the province needs to take a leading role, especially with regards to forest management activities and modifications to current hunting regulations.

A total of $100,000 is available throughout the province for cost-sharing with local governments to assist with the management of urban deer, with individual projects generally capped at $20,000 per community.

For Kelowna to be eligible to receive funding, deer population estimates and a management plan need to be developed first.