The Loudoun County parks department is holding a Virginia lottery of a different kind this year — a chance to hunt deer. After spending four years studying the health of deer at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries determined that overpopulation was harmful to the deer.
There are 150 to 200 deer on the 735-acre preserve, park manager Ron Circe said. At slightly more than 1 square mile in size, the preserve should have only 30 to 40 deer.
“When the population starts getting too large, they have a finite amount of resources they can use for food or water,” Circe said. “There’s no natural predators left to keep the population in control.”
Loudoun County residents who want to register for the hunting lottery must pay $10. Nonresidents pay $15. The deadline to register is Dec. 13, and the 25 winners will be notified the next day.
Anyone selected will be expected to hunt on three consecutive Thursdays in January.
There are other methods of controlling the deer population, such as feeding deer birth control medication or sterilizing does and bucks, but these procedures are costly and not necessarily more effective than a controlled hunt.
Feeding deer contraceptives can be tricky. Experts often use corn, but that’s not a part of the deer’s natural diet. It’s better to use acorns, but there’s no telling what other animals might eat them before the deer can, Circe said.
It costs roughly $1,000 to $1,500 to capture and sterilize a buck, Circe said.
“In any economic time, it’s tough to come up with that kind of money to do it,” he said.
Hunters at Banshee Reeks will only be allowed to kill antlerless deer. There is no limit to the number of deer hunters may harvest during the three days, but all hunters are responsible for taking away whatever deer they kill.
County officials are also providing the hunters with contacts to local butchers participating with Hunters for the Hungry. Hunters can donate their deer to the butchers, who will cut, wrap and freeze venison for distribution to food banks and other charities.
It’s the first controlled hunt at the preserve, but managed hunts are commonplace in Northern Virginia and parks throughout the state.
Fairfax County is hosting hunts in Sully Woodlands Park, Riverbend Park, and Meadowood Farm. Virginia is hosting hunts at Leesylvania State Park in Prince William County and Mason Neck State Park in Fairfax County.
