Last week at the regular meeting of City Council, a motion was passed to set aside $5000 in reserve to deal with deer translocated from Kimberley, if they wandered into another community and caused problems. This was a requirement from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, and one of the last barriers to the City of Kimberley being issued a translocation permit for this winter.
After some discussion, Council passed the motion, and it appears the City is now sure they will be issued a permit to conduct another round of translocation study this month.
Given that, the City is seeking residents who would be willing to allow contract biologists onto their properties to tranquilize and remove the mule deer.
If you are interested in allowing the biologists access to your property, please email your name, address and phone number to urbandeer@kimberley.ca. Add any information related to how many deer you have in your neighbourhood and whether any of them are acting aggressively.
Should you agree to allow the biologists to work on your property, a waiver will be required.
Permissions from property owners will be compiled in a map of properties to guide the contractors. The mule deer will be tranquilized by dart gun, transported to an awaiting truck, and then driven to winter range far outside of city limits to be released.
Please continue to report any aggressive deer to the RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277 (RAPP) or #7277 on the Telus Mobility Network. Reports can also be done online at https://forms.gov.bc.ca/environment/rapp/
