MDC: Deer census not needed within Cape

Ron Duff saw the unexpected Tuesday morning as he drove southbound on Perryville Road not far from St. Mary's Cemetery in Cape Girardeau -- an antlered buck whitetail deer standing in the street.

"It was a very foggy day; the buck held [its] position in the middle of the road," said Duff, an independent video producer, "so I slowed down to a crawl, and he held his ground."

Duff said traffic was beginning to back up behind him on Perryville.

"I nudged forward, and the buck didn't budge," he added.

After taking several pictures through the windshield, Duff stopped his vehicle.

"For a minute, I thought I was going to have to get out of the car to get him to move," Duff continued.

After moving his car toward the stationary animal, the deer finally moved off the thoroughfare, Duff said.

Duff, who lives on Big Bend Road, said he sometimes sees multiple deer in his yard.

Officials from the City of Cape Girardeau met this past week at the Cape office of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), and the state agency opined that a new count of deer in city limits is probably unnecessary.

[(MDC officials] told us the 2012 deer data it gathered is still relevant now and an update is not needed," said Scott Meyer, Cape's city manager, noting MDC's opinion is that more deer are in the city "now than there were last time."

Meyer's mention of "last time" refers to Cape Girardeau City Council's 2012 decision, by a 4-3 vote, to authorize an urban archery hunt of deer.

In April 2013, in the only known instance of a Cape city ordinance being rolled back, city residents by referendum effectively invalidated the hunt by a 53.7%-46.3% vote.

October 19, Peter Kinder, a Cape Girardeau resident and former state lieutenant governor, asked council to "get some facts" about a deer herd he believes continues to grow rapidly within city limits.

After Kinder's remarks, Mayor Bob Fox asked city staff to investigate a possible reconsideration of a hunt.

Fox, who said a month ago that emails he has received on the subject of a hunt were almost unanimously "positive," told the Southeast Missourian he is personally receptive to the idea.

Committee of two

Meyer said the city's new finance director, Dustin Ziebold, an avid hunter and trapper, and Ty Metzger, the lead nuisance abatement officer for Cape police, will meet again with MDC to look into specifics on how a hunt might be conducted.

Meyer said he expects a presentation, with possible recommendations, will come before council early in 2021.

No sitting member of the council was serving when the original urban deer hunt ordinance passed.

In the original ordinance eight years ago, deer could be hunted on city lots 2 acres or larger.

This time around, if council eventually gives approval, an archery hunt might be restricted to public land in the city.

"We should focus not just on reducing the deer herd but maintaining it at a good level," Meyer said, which may require periodic hunts in the future.

Meyer said he is leery of a certain kind of hunt.

"I think residents will find unpalatable the idea of hired sharpshooters to cut the herd," said Meyer, who will become the longest-serving city manager in Cape Girardeau history when he retires in June.

Duff indicated he would second Meyer's motion when it comes to ruling out the use of firearms.

"I don't like the idea of a bunch of deer hunters turned loose in the city with high-powered rifles," he said.

Duff said, if possible, he would prefer to see deer relocated rather than hunted.

Meyer said if council votes next year to endorse an archery hunt within city limits, he does not anticipate one would take place until November 2021.