Cape council expands bow hunts of deer to private properties of minimum of 2-acres

Cape Girardeau City Council members Monday, Aug. 5, approved expanding deer hunts using archery equipment to private properties of a minimum of 2 acres.

During the council’s meeting, police officer Ty Metzger said that to reduce property damage and deer-car collisions, the hunts must be expanded.

“When I looked at the parcels that we have here in the city, we have 2-plus acre parcels,” Metzger said. “There are roughly 970 properties in the city of Cape (Girardeau); 2 to 5 acres, roughly 657 parcels.”

He said that doesn’t mean all of those places could be hunted since some are parking lots and businesses. Metzger said while he didn’t know how many of the parcels are residential, he doesn’t think the percentage is going to be that great.

Ward 4 Councilman David Cantrell said he has heard from residents concerned about the hunts being conducted on properties as small as 2 acres.

“I’ve got a lot of emails from people that are opposed to just opening it up to that many people, because there’s a lot of people at that size, and 2 acres,” Cantrell said. “I’m concerned about the deer that get away, that they’re shot, that they’re not killed, and that they venture off into other properties, and then other residents have to deal with it.”

He described opening it up to that many people as a “bit extreme.”

Metzger pointed out that a deer could run off 20 acres as easily as it could 2, acknowledging there is “still the what-if factor.”

He said when someone wants to hunt on a property, the owner or somebody else who is hunting would sign an agreement beforehand.

“Both the property owner and the hunter, or more than one hunter if they had allowed more than one, all parties have to sign off on a form that we will provide each party. ... They’re all responsible for any actions or behavior,” Metzger said.

He said there is not a limit to how many hunters can hunt on private property “at this point”, unlike a managed hunt. Metzger said the number of hunters would be at the “discretion” of the property owner.

In response to the concern about injured deer, Ward 3 Councilman Nate Thomas made a comparison to motor vehicle accidents.

“Motor vehicle accidents, they’re (deer) getting hit, so we’re not going to keep people from driving,” Thomas said. “They’re going to get injured and die on other people’s property, and that’s only going to increase as more and more deer are out there, and at the safety of the person driving that vehicle, so it’s going to be a safety concern either way.”

Metzger also said that changing the ordinance will more mirror Department of Conservation regulations. He said the new ordinance will also not require orange to be worn, like the state’s Department of Conservation.

The motion to amend the ordinance to allow the new rules was passed 6-0, with Mayor Stacy Kinder absent.