HOT SPRINGS - The city has a permit to cull 50 deer and the process of baiting and shooting does has begun, an official from the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks said Dec. 15 at a city council meeting.

City residents had suggested at an earlier meeting that the city could tranquilize the deer and transport them to Custer State Park, but Kanta said that wouldn't be successful.

"The park is also looking at ways to reduce its deer numbers right now," he said. "And the deer that are in Hot Springs have no fear of humans, they wouldn't be able to adapt to the change."

Kanta said the success rate of transporting deer is 60 percent or less and the process of tranquilizing and capturing is costly.

He said the venison from the culled deer is donated to a food bank, and the deer heads are removed and sent to Pierre for testing.

Councilman Charles Easterby asked about safety concerns with gunfire in town and Kanta said precautions have been taken to find out-of-the way locations for the shooting.

Tim Tescher asked why people at a Dec. 1 council meeting were invited to a Dec. 17 public safety meeting to talk about the deer program only to find out that the city had began culling deer days soon after the first meeting.

"Some of those people left there that night believing that there was still a chance to stop this," he told the council.

Councilman Barry Field, who heads the city Public Safety Committee, noted that at the Dec. 1 meeting the city had not yet been issued the kill permit and when the permit was issued, the elimination began.

Mayor Don De Vries said the deer management plan was approved earlier in 2008 and the decision was made to move forward.

Kanta said similar deer-culling programs are ongoing in other West River communities.

"We have had a program in Rapid City for some time and have also begun working with Spearfish, Deadwood and are in discussions with Edgemont," he said.