Plum mayor pushing for borough deer cull; council president skeptical

Plum Mayor Harry Schlegel says the borough needs to kill more deer.

Allegheny County’s seventh-largest municipality, he said, is suffering from whitetail “overpopulation” that is causing public safety concerns and proving to be a nuisance to residents.

Schlegel said this week he would like to see borough council move forward on some sort of deer management program.

Ultimately, he would like to see a community culling program instituted that would allow certified residents to harvest deer throughout the year.

The process he foresees would be controlled, only allowing archery hunting at certain prearranged places and times.

That might involve places like Boyce Park, which provides a sanctuary for deer, he said.

Before the council would take any action, however, Plum Council President Paul Dern would like to see the issue put to a community referendum.

Dern is unsure how he would vote in such a referendum, but he said culling programs come with “good and bad.” Still, he said, the council would look into the issue.

“I wouldn’t want to do anything without a tremendous amount of public input,” he said.

Most residents, he said, are frustrated by deer populations in residential areas, where hunting would likely prove impossible because of safety concerns.

Like Schlegel, Dern said active culls would likely have to happen at Boyce Park and on private farm land.

Without similar programs in surrounding municipalities, Dern doubts any Plum culls would be able to keep up with the population in the borough.

Plus, archery culls run the risk of merely wounding deer, he said.

According to a 2009 land use assessment, about 42% of Plum is residential, commercial or industrial space. About 40% of the borough is either vacant or recreational space where deer might find easier refuge. That’s in addition to another 14% that’s occupied by agricultural land.

In her backyard, Plum resident Pam Fratangelo regularly sees about two dozen grazing deer. She told borough officials her family had been “severely impacted” by the number of nearby deer.

Fratangelo said she and her husband, Mario, suffer from the effects of Lyme disease, usually contracted through the bite of a tick.

Though deer in Pennsylvania generally do not carry Lyme disease, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, they do carry ticks, which could have picked up the disease from mice or chipmunks, the most common carriers of the bacteria that causes the disease.

In addition to the health concerns, a collision with a deer caused thousands of dollars of damage to Fratangelo’s car, and the animals destroyed her vegetable garden.

“I respectfully urge the council to implement effective deer overpopulation strategies,” she said.

Schlegel cited neighboring Oakmont Council’s discussions last month about issuing a community survey to gauge resident concern about deer in that borough.

The two boroughs, if action is taken, would join other municipalities in Allegheny County which have implemented deer management programs.

Fox Chapel, Ross and Mt. Lebanon cull their herds, and Pittsburgh began an archery-controlled deer management pilot program in 2023 in Frick and Riverview parks. Last year, the city expanded the program to include Schenley, Highland and Emerald View parks. In addition, sharpshooters killed deer in Frick and Riverview parks at night this year.

Ross also authorized sharpshooters to begin sniping deer in the township in the coming years.

Fox Chapel officials, who began that borough’s deer management program in 1993, report deer-vehicle collisions have dropped by 80% since the program began.

Schlegel hopes to further discuss the borough’s options at its August council meeting and possibly vote on a plan by September or October.