Penticton Council reconsiders deer cull

Problem deer in Penticton, won't have to hoof it, right away.

The southern Okanagan city is taking the creatures out of the crosshairs until at least January while newly elected councillors reconsider a planned cull.

A strategy to trap and hunt deer was approved by the previous council in September but the new council will wait for a review of culls in other B.C. communities before proceeding.

Mayor Dan Ashton says the delay is not a bid to avoid dealing with habituated deer that damage gardens and can be aggressive toward pets and people.

But he says council would like to take a different direction than its predecessor.

Councillors will be watching the outcome of a cull underway in Cranbrook, where deer are being trapped and euthanized, rather than hunted within city limits, as proposed in Penticton. 

(CHBC)