'We were just screaming': Harrowing encounter has Princeton, B.C. woman call for a deer cull

A woman in Princeton, B.C.,is calling for a cull of deer in her community after a frightening encounter outside her home.

Brittany Antonicksaid she and her family wereoutside their home Wednesday afternoon, loading something into their truckwhenthey saw a deer.

At the same time, awoman was walking by with ababy in a stroller and two leashed dogs.

Antonick said shesaw the deer eyeingthe woman's dogs. She ran over to the woman, and her dog followed.

"Then the deer absolutely attacked and stomped my dog," Antonicktold Radio West Friday.

LISTEN | Brittany Antonick of Princeton, B.C. recounts harrowing deer encounter

Herdog raninto the family truck, she says, then the deerturned to the woman, her baby and her dogs.

Antonicksays she had them runinto her house, and her husband managed to scare the deer away.

"We were just screaming," Antonicksaid.

"I was so worried about not only my child who was 10 feet away from us, but that little three-month-old in the stroller who was completely helpless and the poor mom.We were just all screaming, totally terrified of what was going to happen."

Antonicksaid she and her husband have dealt with the same deer before, and that the animalhas fawns in the area.

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service says that during fawning season, does can bevery protective of their newborn offspring, and may be aggressive towards dogsand humans.

Antonicksays deer have become an increasing danger in Princeton, a problem made worse bypeople feeding the animals.

She is calling for a cull of the animals in her community.

Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne said human-deer interactions have been an issue in the community for about 20 years, but the numberof deer-related calls they receive is not high enough to warrant a cull.

Residents who do have an interaction with wildlifeshould report it to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service (COS), he says. They should also report anyone feeding deer.

"The more call volume the conservation service has, the more likelihood we'll get officers in the community working," Coyne said, noting that many choose not to contact conservation officers because they think an animal will be put down.

LISTEN |Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne on aggressive deer in the community

Coyne, speaking to Radio West, said the closest officer is over an hour away in Merritt.Oftentimes, when someone reports an aggressive animal, it moveson before an officer arrives.

He says it's always a contentious issue, and the decision to cullhas to be done with co-operation from the province.

In a statement, the COS said the Ministry of Forests is responsible for managing urban deer populations together with municipalities. If a deer is aggressive towardpeople, conservation officersmay get involved.

A series of guidelines on avoiding human-deer conflicts can be found on the COS website.

The forest ministrysaid it has supported municipalities with culls in the past through the Provincial Urban Deer Committee.Other mitigation methods can also be considered, and immuno-contraception is being tested.