Fairfax City to try a new approach to deer: surgical sterilization of does As the District and its highly populated suburbs grapple with their expanding deer populations, Fairfax City is planning a new approach: tranquilize and capture all the female deer in the six-square-mile city, take them to a surgical table and sterilize them to keep them from reproducing. The entire process, from “darting” to release, takes about 90 minutes. If Fairfax City receives clearance from the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, officials said it will be the first jurisdiction in Virginia to try the sterilization approach. It’s an approach much preferred by animal rights groups, as opposed to straight deer killing, and Fairfax City Mayor Scott Silverthorne said that the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals connected him with a non-profit group called White Buffalo Inc. White Buffalo is run by Anthony J. DeNicola, a wildlife ecologist who has been actively involved in deer research for 25 years. He said he has studied the possibility of sterilizing deer by vaccine, but said the vaccines just aren’t strong enough to last yet. So in the last four years, he has launched surgical sterilization programs in four other locations around the country, including one in Baltimore County, with no immediate repercussions. Now, with Fairfax City prepared to join the project, the research database will grow for examining its effectiveness in humanely reducing the herds which destroy vegetation, transport diseased ticks and leap in front of moving vehicles. Silverthorne said the sterilization process will not cost the taxpayers money: White Buffalo is funding it with its own resources. Silverthorne said he wasn’t convinced that managed deer hunts in Fairfax County, which surrounds his city, had been having any impact on the deer population. DeNicola toured Fairfax City with police Chief Rick Rappoport over several nights recently, and estimated the city only has about 50 to 75 deer. He told Silverthorne and the Fairfax City Council last week that the city didn’t have problematic deer density yet, but was taking a smart step by acting before the deer population grew out of control. “To actively intervene before you have a crisis is very unique,” DeNicola said. The council voted 5-1 last week to approve the sterilization program. The process begins with shooting female deer (does) with tranquilizer darts, which are equipped with tracking chips so the deer can be found after they are shot. DeNicola said it will be him, a graduate student and a veterinarian to handle the deer, with a police officer assisting with security. A tranquilized deer will then be taken to the Fairfax police headquarters sallyport, where a surgical table will be set up. DeNicola showed the council a slide show of how the deer are opened up, its ovaries removed, and then sewed back up. DeNicola said the deer typically come out of the anesthesia after about an hour, and after a short period to get its bearings, it is taken back to where it was found and released. “We’ve tried to refine a method,” DeNicola said, “in a way that is humane and can afford level of practicality to go into a community and intervene, preferably before it becomes a problem.” DeNicola and his team can process a lot of deer in a short time. In two weeks in Cayuga Heights, N.Y., his team captured and sterilized 137 does. They have also worked in Phoenix, Md., Town and Country, Mo., and San Jose, Calif. They are now monitoring those areas for results. DeNicola also has experience with deer hunts where requested. DeNicola said follow-up examinations of the deer, which are tagged, has shown very little problem with infection or post-operative complications. Deer typically do not migrate from one area to another, but will do so in response to intensive managed hunts, DeNicola said. He said he hoped to use nearby Vienna, with no hunts or sterilization, as a control group to compare whether Fairfax City’s program is having any effect. I recently went for a run through Daniels Run Park in Fairfax City, and at the top of a hill I approached a doe who stood absolutely still. I ran closer, and this deer did not move. She had two smaller deer behind her. I came within four feet, decided against trying to pull out my phone and snap a photo, and kept going, while the doe stayed firmly in place. “It’s clear that your deer have made themselves quite at home,” DeNicola said, but that’s good for his program. It allows his team to get much closer and fire the tranquilizer darts. DeNicola said he hopes to train others to take over the program eventually. Rappoport said the cost to the police was minimal and he supported the program. Silverthorne said, “We’re going to have a lot of data when this is all said and done.”
This seems to be very expensive. It also seems to me that it would be somewhat of a traumatic experience on the deer. I would personally be extremely against this. Would there be long term effects on the deer herd? I know they are trying to control the herd before there is a problem but I feel traditional method's of hunting would be better as far as cost and effects to the deer themselves. I may have missed some of the benefits of this since I skimmed through it but how is it better then managed hunts other then satisfying animal rights groups?
This is great. Just what Merica needs to help control deer populations. I wonder if I can apply to help shoot them with the tranquilizer darts sounds like a good time !
