SMITHTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — Federal wildlife specialists will cull Long Island’s deer population by shooting up to 180 of the animals in New York state parks and other locations this year. Authorities say the cull is intended to reduce damage to habitats and prevent collisions between deer and motor vehicles. Culling has been practiced for about 20 years on Long Island. Forty-nine deer were culled there in 2021. But Brian Nearing of the state’s Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation told Newsday that staffers have seen increased damage lately. Animal advocates planned to protest Wednesday outside Caleb Smith preserve in Smithtown, one of the planned cull sites.
Photo: FILE – Deer forage through a blanket of snow in Lancaster, N.Y., Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013. The highly infectious COVID-19 omicron variant was detected in the white-tailed deer population on New York’s Staten Island, according to a study by a Penn State research team. (AP Photo/David Duprey, File)
