‘Way overpopulated’: Tega Cay considering birth control for deer

TEGA CAY, S.C. — There’s a new option on the table to reduce Tega Cay’s overwhelming deer population.

Instead of letting hunters kill some of the deer, a conservationist is pushing for a type of birth control. But the idea is getting mixed reactions.

“You see them every day; you see them in the mornings, in the evening; sometimes you have 12 of them in your yard,” said Peter Ott, describing the deer situation he encounters in Tega Cay.

People like Ott and Melaney Koehn agree that something needs to be done to reduce the deer population.

“It is way overpopulated; there’s too many,” Koehn said.

Last month, the city received approval to kill 80 deer. But in the same month, the Tega Cay Wildlife Conservation Society presented city council members with another option to thin the herd.

It’s called PZP, and it could reduce the thousands of deer in the area.

“It’s basically a pregnancy blocker. It’s a protein-based vaccine, so it’s not hormonal,” said Mary Ickert with the Tega Cay Wildlife Conservation Society. “It does not have any side effects on these animals, and it’s administered intramuscularly, so through a dart.”

Ickert’s proposal says deer will be darted with PZP annually, which will block new pregnancies, breaking the cycle of more deer being born.

“It’s a better way to get numbers down over time versus this quick kneejerk reaction to bringing in sharpshooters,” Ickert said.

Ott says he’s not against city council considering PZP.

“I think it’s a good idea; it’s kind of a humane idea if you can that way in regards to the deer,” Ott said.

Koehn said she’s concerned about the cost.

“I think that’s possible, the only other side of that, that I worry about, is the continual upkeep and maintenance for that,” Koehn said. “It’s a matter of cost.”

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The city council paused any decisions on how they plan to thin the herd, so there won’t be any deer hunting in the city for now.

Currently, they’re waiting for Clemson University to approve the PZP method for deer overpopulation. If approved, a vote can be made by the city council with that option instead of using sharpshooters.

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