Police To Hunt Deer In Lower Merion Parks This Season

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA – Off-duty Lower Merion Township Police officers will be able to hunt deer in township parks following a decision made at a recent police committee meeting and the township being denied a deer-culling permit last year.

After the township was not granted permission by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to open public parks for deer hunts in 2016, the township had to get creative to earn its annual deer-culling permit from the state.

The police-led hunt program is to be supervised, Police Superintendent Mike McGrath said at the Nov. 1 meeting.

Police who participate in the hunt must register with McGrath and get his approval, as well as comply with all PA Game Commission regulations and clearances, before, during, and after the hunts. That includes only hunting during the state's permitted hunting periods.

Lower Merion is in the 5D Wildlife Management Unit. See when hunting is allowed in the area at the Game Commission website here.

Commissioner Anna Durbin said residents should not worry about people firing weapons in the parks "willy nilly" due to the regulations, restrictions, and supervision of the hunts.

Commissioner Elizabeth Rogen said not only does the hunt help limit the deer population in the area, the venison from the deer is used at food pantries in the area, making the hunt a win-win for the township and surrounding areas.

In 2016, the township did not earn its annual culling permit after the Game Commission said the township would have to open its parks to hunting to get the permit. The township thought that was not an ideal situation, so the population in Lower Merion went unchecked for a year.

Rogen said its clear the deer population grew since the 2016 cull was cancelled.

Image via Morguefile