Politics & Government

Russo: No Deer Culling or Hunting Before Election

Safety Committee Chairman Bill Russo said despite council moving forward on deer management activities, there will be no hunting until after the anti-hunting ordinance is voted on in November

Despite city council moving forward with its deer management efforts, the chairman of the safety committee said there will be no hunting or culling until after the November election.

There will be no culling until after the election," Councilman said last week at the safety committee meeting. "No culling, no crossbow, nothing done prior to the election."

On Nov. 8, Solon voters will decide on the , a resident effort to ban hunting in the city. If it passes, the city won't be able to hunt or use sharpshooters to reduce the deer population.

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But even though the future of the program is up in the air, Solon officials are moving forward as if they will be culling deer this winter. They recently approved a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to have the federal agency manage the city's sharpshooting efforts.

The city also has a comprehensive deer plan, which includes lethal methods, on tonight's city council meeting agenda for its third reading. A vote on the plan is likely.

Find out what's happening in Solonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

If the city can hunt, officials are exploring a pilot program later this year and deer culling efforts early next year.


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