People living in the City of Big Rapids are facing a huge deer overpopulation issue. Now, the city is proposing a solution that would take out some of the deer; and at the same time help feed the hungry in the area.
Gregg Shewan who lives in the City of Big Rapids says, “Right now, we just have to cooperate with them because they’re just over running us.”
And Shewan says he’s not the only person in the neighborhood fed up with the number of deer. That’s why the city is proposing a deer cull for the 20th year to remove deer from the area by killing them.
“It’s not a wasting thing, we’re not just wasting these animals. So we’re helping and maintaining the herd at a more manageable level,” says Shewan.
If the decision is agreed upon on Monday, January 6th, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) would come in and shoot the deer.
Big Rapids City Manager Mark Gifford says the deer cull is extremely safe and humane. Once the deer have been harvested, all of the meat will be processed and donated.
“The meat is used, it’s donated to food pantries and it’s something that is welcomed from that sector of the community, so this is not a wasteful activity,” says Gifford.
Shewan says, “It’s not that we’re against nature or we want to kill all of the animals, it’s just that we want to maintain the herd a little lower.”
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