Smith Reynolds Airport Proposes Rifle Hunt To Manage Deer Population

Officials at Smith Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem have proposed a rifle hunt to help manage the local deer population. Wildlife officials say the deer pose a major safety concern.

One wildlife biologist told the Public Safety Committee that while most animal strikes involve birds, collisions with larger mammals such as deer and coyotes have the potential to cause catastrophic damage.

Airport director Mark Davidson told committee members that close calls with deer have caused pilots to abort takeoffs, and collisions have taken place following landings.

The airport has asked the city to change a local ordinance so that trained personnel can use suppressed rifles to kill deer on and around airport property during nighttime hunts.

Davidson says officials with the U.S Department of Agriculture can use rifles to eliminate the deer at no cost to the city, and with no safety risk to nearby residents.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports the city has not made a decision on an ordinance change. The proposal will be back before the Public Safety Committee in August.