GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WZZM)- Sharpshooters held another hunt tonight in Grand Haven in an effort to cut the deer population.
The hunt was in Lake Forest Cemetery and it's dividing city residents. Some feel the city is killing off healthy deer while others say there are too many and it's affecting the environment.
The sharpshooters gathered early in the day at Lake Forest Cemetery to plan their hunt. It's the latest place hunters are targeting to thin the herd.
Thursday opponents gathered outside Grand Haven City Hall hoping to stop the hunt. "They just decided that they're going to kill deer. It's all over social issues," said protestor Nancy Nagtzaam, " They got calls and they don't want calls anymore."
The complaints started in 2007. Some residents said there were too many deer. "Initially we were getting a lot of complaints that the deer were damaging parks, the environment, and yards." said Lisa Sutterfield Grand Haven Assistant City Manager.
The city worked with the Department of Natural Resources and Michigan State University to determine if the herd needed to be thinned. It was decided that it did. The first hunt took place on Harbor Island last week. Sharpshooters killed around 19 deer.
"The report I got said they were small and that meant they were feeling pressure." said Sutterfield.
Sutterfield says she was also told that the deer would likely eat anything and everything in sight and disrupt the ecosystem. Protestors say that's hard to believe, "It's just absolutely ridiculous. They just want to kill deer." says Nancy Nagtzaam. Her group spoke their mind in front of City Hall but in the end the hunt happened as scheduled.
Tonight on WZZM 13 News at 11 hear from area residents who claim they didn't know the hunt was happening. Some say they were walking in the cemetery when the shooting began.
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