I think it is time that we dispel the mayor’s myth of a deer overpopulation in Oak Bay. A count was undertaken over five days last April by three persons in a pickup truck. The biggest number of deer counted on one day was 26. The five day total was 94, but how many of those deer were counted more than once? In theory, our overpopulation equates to 26.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources sent me the guidelines for a deer count using grids and other methods. They admitted that this system was intended for use in rural areas and nothing was available for urban areas. They further stated that a count in an urban setting like Oak Bay would not be accurate.
William Jesse
Oak Bay