Bent Tree’s first deer kill sparks controversy from homeowners

Some homeowners of gated community infuriated, accuse board of

mismanagement and inadequate research

The gated community of Bent Tree has just undergone its first deer culling, where 54 deer were shot by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) to thin a herd wildlife officials say became too large for the residential area. 

 But some property owners in the community vehemently opposed the killing, which took place Monday, March 14 through Wednesday, March 16. They accuse the Bent Tree Board of Directors of not backing up the cull with enough research, of improperly conducting the herd survey, of not attempting to manage the herd with alternative methods, of mismanaging funds to pay for the cull and, in some cases, of wanting to eliminate the wildlife in Bent Tree for the sake of saving “fancy yards and flowers” from becoming deer food.   

 Over the three-day cull, Mitch Yeargin of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said he was called out to subdue conflicts that may have arisen from Bent Tree residents opposed to the kill.

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