Sixteen years ago, Rochester Hills’ deer cull was over almost as soon as it began.

That’s according to opponents, who are now trying to stop three other Oakland County cities that are planning culls, and to Matt Einheuser, Rochester Hills’ natural resources manager. The cull occurred before Einheuser worked for the city, but he has researched its effects on the deer population.

A cull is an organized hunt on designated land by trained sharpshooters intended to reduce the number of deer in an area where experts say they are overpopulated.

The Rochester Hills hunt, held in winter 2009, drew hundreds of protesters to City Council meetings. Some protesters even showed up at sites where the hunt was being held. Opponents filed a lawsuit to try to stop it. Opposition grew after photos circulated on social media of blood trails in the snow, allegedly left by a deer that was shot but didn’t die immediately.

“It was horrible. I can’t even listen to it anymore — so disgusting,” said Monique Balaban of Rochester Hills, who opposed the cull in that city and is now active in the Advocates for Michigan Wildlife Coalition. The group is considering several avenues — including lawsuits — to try to stop Farmington Hills, Farmington and Southfield from holding culls next year.

The Rochester Hills cull, which employed sharpshooters from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, only killed 16 deer before the city halted it, Einheuser said. Culls in other areas of Michigan have thinned the deer population by as few as 50 animals or as many as several hundred.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources generally recommends that a cull should reduce the deer population by 35-40% per year for several years. The DNR recently estimated the deer population in the Farmington Hills area at about 1,500 animals.

Vehicle-deer crashes — one of the main reasons that cities plan culls — have dropped dramatically in Rochester Hills in recent years. But Einheuser said the cull is probably not responsible for the decrease.

The city recorded 153 vehicle-deer collisions in 2020. In 2021-2024, the frequency ranged between 102-123.

After the cull, the city formed a deer management committee, which recommended several nonlethal means of controlling the effects of deer co-existing with humans.

These included placing flashing signs that warn motorists of deer crossings in areas with the most vehicle-deer collisions.

The flashing signs are more effective than older “deer crossing” signs seen in many municipalities, he said.

“Those kind of get lost in the background. Drivers don’t really pay attention to them,” he said.

The city also works with local nurseries to educate residents about landscaping that is more deer-resistant, Einheuser said.

Einheuser said experts believe the deer population in Rochester Hills shrank because of an epidemic of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD, which broke out shortly after the cull.

No population estimates are available for Rochester Hills, currently or at the time of the cull, but Einheuser said researchers believe the deer herd is just now beginning to recover from EHD.

The disease, which is often fatal, is transmitted by small flying insects called midges, known in the Midwest as “no-see-ums.”

The Huron-Clinton Metroparks have also conducted calls almost every year since 1999, using sharpshooters from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, according to a report in Hometown Life.

None of the 13 metroparks in southeast Michigan hosted culls last year, only the fourth time since the program began more than 25 years ago.

“Population estimates currently do not reach the density threshold for management action in 2024, so no culls were, or will be, performed in any Metroparks,” Danielle Mauter, chief of marketing and communications for the Metroparks, said last year.

DNR officials believe that could be a sign that the culls worked, the story said.

Michelle Dimaria of West Bloomfield Township, also active in Advocates for Michigan Wildlife Coalition, disagrees.

“To me, anything that you have to repeat for 25 years doesn’t work,” she said.

Metroparks officials could not be reached for comment on whether the culls were held this year.

Annual aerial surveys determined the need for culls in order to keep herds healthy. Third-party wildlife biologists studied the deer populations in the parks and concluded that “data indicates herd stress due to lack of nutrition.”

Two of the 13 parks — Kensington in Milford Township and Indian Springs in White Lake Township — are in Oakland County.

In 2021, the cull was canceled at Kensington after authorities say a Royal Oak man threatened by phone to shoot the officers taking part in it. Authorities deemed the threat credible. The man was charged with malicious use of a telecommunications device, a misdemeanor.

Upcoming culls

The city councils in Farmington Hills and Southfield recently voted to contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to conduct culls next year. Farmington Hills also expects to add a bow hunt in 2027 that will be conducted by public safety officers.

The Farmington City Council voted to contract with Farmington Hills to manage the cull.

Culls are expected to cost $20,000 each for Farmington Hills and Southfield. Farmington is a smaller city and the cost is expected to be lower, but no estimate was released.

Officials in all three cities said they have looked at nonlethal means of deer population control for years. Farmington Hills, for example, enacted a ban on feeding deer in 2017. While the city did not issue any citations, ordinance officers gave a number of residents a warning.

Residents in all three cities have asked officials to address deer overpopulation for years, complaining of seeing as many as 20 deer in their yards and having landscaping decimated.

Farmington Hills and Southfield officials say the number of car-deer crashes continues to rise. Along with vehicle repair costs for motorists and the risk of the loss of human life, car-deer crashes create costs for municipalities, which often pay for the disposal of the large animal carcasses. If the animal dies on private property, the homeowner sometimes has to pay the disposal cost.

DNR officials also say the deer population in southeast Michigan is reaching a point where it may become unhealthy for the animals.

Farmington Hills and Southfield officials say the culls will not be announced. Southfield Mayor Ken Siver said the city wants to keep protesters from showing up.

Local police will be on hand to keep protesters or bystanders from entering parks and other large pieces of property where culls are underway.

Culls will be conducted over two to five nights, with sharpshooters in trees using thermal imaging equipment to locate deer.

Opponents say that despite the precautions, they still fear for the safety of nearby residents and pets, or even those who are out for a nighttime walk.

They remain unconvinced that all nonlethal methods of limiting car-deer crashes and controlling deer population have been explored. They say the DNR promotes culls as the only solution.

“There is so much bad and missing data,” Dimaria said.