The two previous posts on the deer culling program at Governors Club, while imaginative and provocative, are not reflective of the facts about the deer culling program at Governors Club. The Deer Management Program, of which bow and arrow culling is a part, was put in place after nearly two years of study by citizens groups and a committee established by the Property Owners Association Board of Directors to study the deer population, assess the damage and risks, and recommend steps to ameliorate the situation. After a vote of the community in which property owners who voted overwhelmingly supported the cull by a 4 to 1 margin, the program went forward.
We have only used volunteer hunters who are members of the North Carolina Bowhunters Association?s Bowhunters Certification and Referral Service (BCRS). This service was established to provide assistance to communities and other entities that have a problem with deer overpopulation. The hunters are certified marksmen, who are schooled in safe hunting practices. The hunters are assigned to specific hunting sites that were chosen in advance to assure safety and to reduce the chance that a wounded deer would stray onto the property of a resident who does not support the hunt or to any other inappropriate area. These sites are published on a website available to all residents. Field dressing of deer has not and will not take place within Governors Club.
We have recently completed the first culling period without adverse incidents, and we will continue to carry out culling in a safe manner during future hunting periods. The property owners of Governors Club, similar to many communities in North Carolina and across the country, want to bring our overpopulated deer herd under control in order to enhance our resident?s safety and protect their property.
Pros: Community Support and Involvement
Cons: The need to have a program
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