Act Now: Stop Sharpshooting Deer in Arlington, Virginia!
Jeannette Louise Smith
Animal Rights Activist and Founder of No Killing Deer in Arlington, Virginia
The white-tailed deer is the most common deer species in the United States. Tragically, the killing of white-tailed deer in urban American cities as a means of population control is widespread and widely accepted.
Lethal approaches to managing white-tailed deer populations in urban areas are outdated, ineffective, and inhumane. Deer respond to declines in their populations by reproducing more quickly, therefore, culling deer must be continued year after year.
The humane and evidence proven non-lethal method of sterilizing female white-tailed deer to manage populations using PZP must become a standard.
In 2017, The United States Environmental Protection Agency?approved PZP (Porcine Zona Pellucida) for use as a contraceptive in wild horses and burros, and female white-tailed deer. Although PZP is federally registered, state approval is required to use it on deer. It is currently not approved in Virginia, but we intend to legitimize contraception as a lawful option in Virginia.
According to Virginia State Code § 29.1-508.1. PZP is legal with written permission for research purposes.
First, communities must understand the nature of deer-human conflicts and try already available peaceful measures: fencing gardens; preventing accidents with warning signs. The issue might not be deer overpopulation, but learning to live with them.
Culling white-tailed deer as a means of population control negatively impacts many American cities including my community of Arlington, Virginia.
On November 16, 2024, the Arlington, Virginia County Board ignored the expertise of The Animal Welfare League of Arlington (or AWLA, our local non-profit open-access shelter that provides Animal Control, humane education, and humane wildlife services) and over 60% of Arlington residents who advocated for more effective, non-lethal approaches to deer population management prioritizing safety, wildlife protection, and forest health.
Neglecting the overall data, the Arlington, Virginia County Board voted unanimously to change county zoning and ordinances, approving the carrying and use of firearms on public property to allow the ineffective and inhumane sharpshooting of deer in 2025/26.
The Arlington County Government’s consulting contractor, White Buffalo Inc., even suggested that a sterilization approach is a viable alternative. The AWLA was instrumental in the collection of data presented to the Arlington County Board.
The Animal Welfare League of Arlington is a member of A Humane World for Animals (formerly The Humane Society of the United States) Wild Neighbors Program because of their proven track record in addressing Arlington’s wildlife issues humanely. The AWLA has a detailed and truthful presentation about deer in Arlington on their website.
Arlington is dense in population. The sharpshooting of deer will have a negative impact on many Arlington communities that surround our local parks populated with white-tailed deer, including mine.
The Arlington County Board is aware that sharpshooting deer must be continued year after year, costing more and more money. For example, both Fairfax County, Virginia and Howard County, Maryland have been killing deer yearly since 1998 - 27 years!
Public parks may close and limit usage. Deer not killed with a first bullet will pose a danger to people and animals in the vicinity. Residents may find evidence of dead deer in parks or in yards.
All the major animal welfare and animal rights organizations support non-lethal deer management plans.
A Humane World for Animals also provides a more effective, non-lethal Deer Conflict Management and Coexistence Plan for use by communities like Arlington, Virginia. The HSUS plan was gathered from scientific and peer-reviewed articles, experts in human-deer conflict resolution, and from successful deer conflict management models across the United States.
Many communities across the United States implement successful, non-lethal deer management plans.
The most prominent and successful non-lethal deer management plan in the United States is The Clifton Deer Program in Ohio. Since 2015, they have protected the ecological health of their parks and communities through humane methods of deer population management.
In 2014, The National Institutes of Health embarked on a non-lethal deer management plan to neuter adult females on their Bethesda, Maryland Campus. By 2017, their deer herds reached a healthy size.
Current and former Arlington, Virginia residents and anyone worldwide who cares about wildlife can email a short note to the Arlington, Virginia County Board. Tell the Arlington County Board you support non-lethal deer management and oppose their unwise, ineffective, and inhumane decision to kill deer in Winter 2025/26.
Please be courteous. Emphasize that you care about white-tailed deer and advocate for more effective, non-lethal approaches to deer population management prioritizing safety, wildlife protection, and forest health. Remind them of the dangers of shooting deer near our homes.
Arlington Board Chair, Takis P. Karantonis: [email protected]
Arlington Board Vice-Chair, Matt de Ferranti: [email protected]
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Arlington Board Member, Maureen Coffey: [email protected]
Arlington Board Member, Susan Cunningham: [email protected]
The Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation Director, Arlington County Parks and Recreation Natural Resources Manager, County Manager, and Arlington Regional Master Naturalists are equally complicit in the Board’s decision to sharpshoot deer. Write them and tell them you oppose sharpshooting deer:
Jane Rudolph, Director, Department of Parks and Recreation: [email protected]
Alonso Abugattas, Natural Resources Manager: [email protected]
Mark Schwartz, County Manager: [email protected]
Phil Klingelhofer, Arlington Regional Master Naturalist: [email protected]
Bill Browning, Arlington Regional Master Naturalist: [email protected]
Write our Elected State Senators and Delegates. Express your disapproval of The Arlington County Board’s decision to sharpshoot deer and advocate for more effective, non-lethal approaches to deer population management prioritizing safety, wildlife protection, and forest health:
Adam Ebbin: [email protected]
Barbara Favola: [email protected]
Alfonso Lopez: [email protected]
Patrick Hope: [email protected]
Adele McClure: [email protected]
Arlington, Virginia must set a precedent for surrounding counties and cities throughout the United States that already employ lethal deer managements plans as well as municipalities that are considering the use of lethal deer management.
Arlington, Virginia is an educated and compassionate community. We want the Arlington County Board to reflect our values, reverse their decision, and implement a non-lethal deer management program that will benefit deer, other wildlife, plant life, and the entire Arlington community.
We want the Arlington County Board to rescind their amendments to the County’s Firearms ordinance and Miscellaneous Offenses and Provisions of the Arlington County Code, that permits the discharge of firearms for county-supervised contracted professional sharpshooting as a method of deer management.
Current and former Arlington, Virginia residents and anyone worldwide who cares about wildlife can email the Arlington County Board and tell them you support the safest, most effective, and humane solution to deer population management: sterilization.
Together, we can change the future and establish peaceful coexistence with deer in Arlington.
#Awla.orgDeer
#Non-LethalDeerManagementArlington
#HumaneSociety.orgWhatToDoAboutDeer