Sharpshooters Target 50 Deer on U-M Dearborn Campus

The deer population at the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus increased to 76 from 57 in one month, further threatening delicate plant life and the Rouge River Bird Observatory. (Photo by Jeremiah John McBride/Flickr/Creative Commons)

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The University of Michigan-Dearborn called in sharpshooters to kill about 50 deer Tuesday to quell public health and safety concerns and reduce the urban deer population by about two-thirds to 20 to 25, a university spokesman said.

The cost of the hunt, the first such cull in the university’s history is estimated at about $15,000, or $300, the Detroit Free Press reports.

But without population controls, the herd that increased last month by a third – to 76 from 57 – will continue to cause damage in the fragile university and park land ecosystems, as well as contribute to an increase in traffic accidents, university officials said.

In 2013, there were 16 deer-vehicle crashes in 2013 in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights.

Ken Kettenbeil, the university spokesman, said the damage already done by the deer isn’t insignificant. Plant growth has been severely stunted and some species have disappeared entirely. In their place are “invasive species ... brought in with the deer.”

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Of special concern was the effect an exploding deer population might have on the the university’s Rouge River Bird Observatory,the longest-running, full-time urban bird research center in North America. Students could potentially be exposed to Lyme disease carried by deer ticks.

A special permit granting the hunt expires Sunday, so the sharpshooters with Berg’s Animal & Bug Control will return on subsequent nights if the herd hasn’t been culled by the desired number. The meat will be donated to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and Gleaners food bank in Detroit.

Both the Wayne County Board of Commissioners and Dearborn City Council approved the hunt.

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