New York Town Puts Deer Population On “The Pill”

New York's Westchester county village of Hastings-on-Hudson is taking a more "aggressive" approach to controlling the deer population within the town's limits. The town with Tufts University’s Center for Animals and Public Policy is conducting a "first of it's kind" experiment in deer regulation, basically - they're putting deer birth control.

Think it's crazy? More than 50 residents have signed up to help track, capture, and treat the animals.

Dr. Allen T. Rutberg, center director, says it uses the animal's own immune system to prevent it from fertilizing offspring. The process has been used effectively in elephants for years.

What about the cost? The price tag for such an experiment is nearly $30,000, for the first two years, that the town will have to foot completely on their own. Is this a waste of money when the town has used hunters in the past to help control population?

Village Mayor Peter Swiderski is confident it will work and is worth the dough. He claims it's a pressing enough issue that they must look at ways to resolve it. The basis for his claim; In 2011 there were 16 car crashes in the village and the mayor's family contracted Lyme disease from a deer tick.

Before they can move forward with the plan, the village must submit a proposal to State’s Department of Environmental Conservation for approval first.

According to Wikipedia: Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in the southwest part of the town of Greenburgh. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 7,849.