Police respond to 100 deer-related incidents in recent weeks

More than 80% of emergency calls are road-related.

Roswell officials are field- ing an increased number of complaints related to deer.

It is midseason for deer hunting, and the city has an overpopulation, Police Chief James Conroy said. In addition to being hunted, they’re getting hit by cars on the road.

There are an estimated 1.27 million deer in Georgia.

Since October, 100 emer- gency calls have come in, Conroy said, with 81 of those involving vehicles crashing into an animal or a dead deer in the roadway. There were seven incidents of deer caught on a fence, eight responses to calls about injured deer and one inci- dent of two deer fighting, the chief said.

Roswell police have fielded 384 calls of service involving deer over the past year.

Deer-hunting season runs from September to January.

“Hunting can be a con- troversial and emotionally charged issue,” Conroy said. “We have people who are in favor of hunting and people who are opposed to hunting, and we’re trying to navigate the waters in the middle.”

A deer hunter who lives outside the city but has a proper state license and Roswell permit to hunt has been harassed by residents, the chief said.

State law regulates hunt- ing, which is enforced by the Department of Natural

Resources. In Roswell, deer hunters must have a permit for hunting with a bow, air gun or BB gun. (Use of firearms is only allowed in an indoor firing range.)

Permits allow hunting on a person’s own land. Written permission is required to hunt on another person’s property.

Last year, Sandy Springs residents complained of bow hunters trespassing on their property, killing deer and leaving decapitated carcasses after removing the animals’ heads as trophies.

FILE In Roswell, deer hunters must have a permit for hunting with a bow, air gun or BB gun. Written permission is required to hunt on another person’s property.