CHAPEL HILL -- Town staff members have rejected a proposed deer hunt inside town limits, saying too many people live too close together to take out enough deer.
The Chapel Hill Town Council will discuss the recommendation Monday. It follows three requests to cull herds that residents say destroy gardens and spread disease-carrying ticks.
In November, the town's sustainability committee, a citizen advisory board, asked the town to join the state's urban archery program. The program sets up a special hunt outside normal hunting season for bow hunters to kill deer in designated areas.
In a memo to the council, staff leaders say a hunt would be safe only in limited areas. It would have to kill a lot of animals and be repeated, and wounded animals might need to be tracked onto private property.
"We do not believe an urban hunt is a viable option for the town," says the memo from leaders of the police, public works, and parks and recreation departments.
Instead, they recommend the town provide information to residents who want to protect their gardens.
Despite the staff veto, a spokesman for the Chapel Hill Police Department says no rule bans bowhunting in season on private property where the landowner says it is OK.
Chapel Hill prohibits the discharge of firearms inside town limits, but "there is no ordinance that speaks to bows and arrows," Lt. Kevin Gunter said.
That doesn't make bow hunting in town safe, he said.
"If an arrow strikes a tree and ricochets, it is a projectile that could cause death or serious injury," Gunter said.
