Deer Management

This year marks the fifth year of our Town of DeWitt Deer Management Program. We have safely removed 305 deer since 2018. As a consequence, we have donated 8,747 pounds of venison to local food pantries; in 2022 alone 1,414 pounds of venison was donated, providing 5,656 meals to the greater community.

Food needs have significantly increased over the past year due to the pandemic and increasingly challenging economic circumstances for many families; the Town is honored to be able to help support the food needs of the local – and greater – community in this way. Click here for the results of the 2022 cull.

DeWitt’s Deer Management Program grew out of two key factors. First, the Town of DeWitt’s exceptionally high deer population. And second, community meetings and discussions with experts and local stakeholders, as well as review of deer management programs from other communities.  

Deer populations in a natural forested area average about 10-20 deer per square mile; it is estimated that populations in DeWitt are as high as 85 deer per square mile in some areas. Given our unusually high deer population, as well as a myriad of additional concerns – specifically regarding Lyme disease – the Town began addressing the deer management issue with meetings and discussions with local and regional experts and the local community, including: animal rights advocates, hunters, farmers, parents of young children, gardeners, Assemblyperson Pam Hunter’s office, SUNY ESF, and Cornell Cooperative Extension. The Town also reviewed deer management programs from other communities in order to better understand the complexities – and the spectrum of challenges - of safe, humane, effective deer management.

The Town continually updates its Deer Management Program to include new information that can positively and productively impact the on-going program and yield the most safe and effective results. Additionally, the Town works closely with the DEC in order to obtain the required Deer Damage Permits each year and to ensure all requirements are followed.

Key to the success of our Deer Management Program is gaining access to large parcels of land that meet the conditions of our NYS Department of Conservation permit. If you are a property owner interested in supporting the Town’s deer management efforts for 2022, please contact our Planning and Zoning Dept., at (315) 446-3910 x 3.

Also, important reminders, especially during the deer culling months, January to March:  

• Be sure you have a property owner’s explicit permission before entering private property; it is always advisable to have permission to enter private property.
• All Town parks are closed from dusk to dawn.

We’re building community.

This award-winning program unravels the mysteries of deer and why they have adapted the suburban life.