A survey of Esquimalt residents found a majority are willing to pay higher taxes to fund a deer management program.
The survey was distributed to 1,100 households and completed by 510 households.
More than half (59 per cent) of respondents would be willing to contribute increased annual taxes to fund a program of deer management with those split between the hypothetical ranges ($1-10, $11-20, $21-30, more than $30), the survey says.
Because “even a modest property tax increase of $10 could generate program funding of more than $30,000 per year, the survey says the township may be able to fund a substantial program on deer supported in principle by most residents.”
Participants were not polled specifically about their appetite for a cull.
If nothing is done, because most respondents (81 per cent) believe the population is either stable or increasing, the survey results, said consultants, suggest interactions and conflicts between people and deer in Esquimalt will increase.
Nyberg Wildland Consulting, which conducted the survey, recommends a deer count could help with the development of a long-term plan. Councillors discussed the survey yesterday and it will likely be dealt with by Esquimalt council early in the new year.
Options include: Conducting a deer inventory; providing educational resources to residents; co-ordinating with surrounding jurisdictions on any deer control program that the township may consider.
The survey found:
• Sixty-eight respondents (13 per cent of the total) reported experiencing aggressive behaviour by a deer. Forty-seven reported that the aggressive behaviour was directed towards people, and 32 per cent reported aggressive behaviour towards pets.
• The approximate one-third/two-thirds split between those who enjoy seeing deer on their properties versus those who do not suggests that any action contemplated by the township to manage the deer population is likely to be met with criticism or resistance from up to a third of Esquimalt residents.
• Eighty-four per cent reported seeing deer or signs of deer on their property, and about half of those reported that deer significantly damaged plant life on their property in 2016.
• On conflicts with deer, 71 per cent reported some level of concern about the health and welfare of deer in their neighbourhood; 65 per cent indicated concern about being in a car or bicycle collision with deer; and 49 per cent reported concern about themselves or a family member being in an aggressive encounter with a deer.
