Got deer?
Mamaroneck and Rye have wanted for some time for Westchester County to open up Rye’s Marshlands Conservancy to a limited number of bow hunters, in an effort to control the deer population in both municipalities.
Last week, that proposal was quashed by the County. The County gave the towns until later this week to come up with another plan.
“The county has some nerve to deny Rye help, then to impose deadlines on us to figure out how we will fill the void caused by their lack of leadership,”Rye Mayor Joe Sack said.
Westchester has a limited hunting program in several county parks in the northern part of the county.
Deer will continue to be attracted to the area because of foliage and flowers that they eat in backyards, said Kevin Clarke of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Many people including Animal Defenders of Westchester, oppose killing deer and favors a sterilization program.
The Mamaroneck village Board of Trustees plans to create an official deer-management committee Monday. Mayor Norman Rosenblum said if the sterilization option is pursued, residents would have to raise money to finance it.
“The village certainly can’t afford to go into it,” he said. “I think that is the less emotional and less intrusive way of dealing with the problem,” he tells LoHud.
Photo: Emily Cohn
