WILDWOOD, Mo. – The city of Wildwood, the St. Louis region's largest in square mileage, is preparing for its second deer culling season to address concerns around high deer density and public safety.

Deer culling is defined as "the selective removal of presumably inferior deer in order to improve the quality of the remaining population," according to DeerAndDeerHunting.com . Essentially, it involves reducing the deer population and addressing a surplus through methodical hunting practices.

Wildwood City Administrator Thomas Lee tells FOX 2, according to the city's latest deer population study, the city has around 72 deer per square mile. The Missouri Department of Conservation considers around 20 deer per square mile to be an adequate population level .

Lee says deer culling operations are designed to reduce competition for environmental resources available to deer and decrease the number of car accidents involving deer that attempt to cross rural roads and highways.

Girl struck, killed by school bus in O'Fallon, Missouri

He notes there have been around 250 deer-related crashes each year in Wildwood over the last several years, most notably along Missouri Routes 100 and 109. The city hopes culling operations will reduce the volume of crashes, and in turn, hopes to reduce the risk of people being exposed to chronic wasting disease or tickborne illnesses.

"This didn't come out of nowhere," said Lee in a phone call with FOX 2 on recent deer culling efforts. "We were getting quite a few calls from residents over the years. [The deer population] is a problem the city has been talking about for the last 10 years. It's just finally getting to a point where we're addressing it."

The city of Wildwood has partnered with nonprofit White Buffalo, Inc. and the Missouri Department of Conservation since its first deer culling season, which ran nearly a month from January to February 2024. Lee says around 300 deer were culled in the first season.

City officials are hopeful to cull around 1,000 deer over the course of five years through 2028 in its population management efforts.

Once the deer are culled, they are either donated to the Saint Louis Zoo or Missouri Department of Conservation for processing and distribution to local food banks or conservation programs, in accordance with state laws.

Watch for us in your inbox.

Subscribe Now

Daily News

"They [White Buffalo] never miss their mark, they immediately get [deer] removed, and get them donated to the right place," said Lee.

Wildwood's first year of its deer culling program reportedly cost around $216,000 . Lee says funding for the first year came from the city's public works operating budget.

To support its ongoing deer management efforts, the Wildwood city council established a deer management fund, allocating $1 million from excess funds previously acquired by the city.

After five planned years of deer culling operations, the city will review data and hope to reach a more manageable 40 deer per square mile density mark. The city says there will be deer population counts after each planned season to monitor signs of progress.

"The goal, I'm hoping [to reach] in 2025 when we get the 2024 report, is to see a slight decrease overall in number of deer-vehicle collisions in which we culled, seeing a significant reduction [in the long-term]," said Lee. "If that's the case, you know the program is working."

Wife of Illinois judge charged with his murder

Wildwood's second season of deer culling operations are scheduled from January 15 to March 1 of next year. Lee says the goal is to cull around 355 deer in the upcoming season.

Much of the planned deer culling efforts will take place in northern and eastern sections of Wildwood city limits. For a map that outlines areas of planned culling operations,.

The City is also hosting a virtual open house event at 7 p.m. on Nov. 19 for Wildwood property owners interested in learning more about the city's deer management efforts. People will have the opportunity to ask questions and hear from law enforcement and representatives of White Buffalo on the deer management efforts.

Lee says Wildwood's deer culling operations are somewhat similar to plans carried out in St. Louis suburbs Town and Country and Des Peres in recent years.