Committee will study deer population

The Hamilton Conservation Authority has agreed to strike a stakeholders committee to examine an overpopulation of deer at Iroquoia Heights Conservation Area.
The Six Nations Confederacy, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and Hamilton City Council are expected to be among the key stakeholders, HCA board chair Chris Firth-Eagland said.
The HCA plans to form the committee in February, after a final report on the deer population is submitted by the Ministry of Natural Resources.
HCA ecologist Shari Faulkenham said property owners have been overrun with deer in the Old Mohawk Road and Scenic Drive area.
“People have had up to 30 deer in their backyard,” she said.
An over abundance of deer threatens the ecosystem, Faulkenham said. When deer cannot find sufficient food they are prone to spreading disease. A high deer population also increases the frequency of vehicle collisions, she said.
An aerial study of 66 hectares surrounding Iroquoia Heights showed an estimated tally of 102 deer where there should only be 10-12 deer, Faulkenham noted.
The HCA plans to study a variety of options to mitigate the deer population including a controlled hunt, a cull or relocation.
Faulkenham said 73 per cent of the census area included urban land where hunting is not permitted. But along the urban/rural boundary of Highway 6, researchers found a “huge congregation” of deer on the north side where hunting is forbidden, and a lesser amount on the south side where hunting is allowed.
Iroquoia Heights presents a unique challenge for deer, Faulkenham said, because the conservation area is like an island, land-locked between highways and urban development.
The stakeholder committee is expected to determine whether the Six Nations Confederacy, the traditional government of Six Nations, will participate in a controlled deer hunt at Iroquoia Heights sometime next year.
“Six Nations Confederacy has come out with a recommendation that they are willing to help and I think that’s commendable,” said Firth-Eagland.
But Ancaster Councillor Lloyd Ferguson said he will oppose any plan that seeks to permit hunting at the urban park.
“I hope the message given tonight is that we have not given permission to hunt,” he said at the HCA’s Dec. 3 board meeting.
Faulkenham said in accordance with the province’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, deer cannot be transported more than one kilometre from where they are captured. Relocation can cause extreme stress in deer, Faulkenham said, leading to a fatal condition called white muscle disease.