Deer are driving a Durham neighborhood apart. Should hunting them in the city be easier?
In a quiet country-club community on the northern edge of Durham, the deer population has exploded in recent decades, and it’s driving neighbors apart.
“Numerous times, deer have darted in front of my car while I’m driving my kids to school,” Katherine Jackson said. “And twice, we’ve removed ticks from my husband.”
“One day there will be an accident where someone is seriously injured or killed,” said Gene Carlone.
Others shrug.
“We live in the woods,” Kevin McElroy said. “People who are afraid of deer, I mean, I guess they shouldn’t live in Treyburn.”
For them, killing the deer is not worth the risk to people and pets.
“Hunting in Durham? Please,” Peter Tocci said. “In the city limits? Please, come on. … We have children running in our neighborhood.”
Bow hunting deer is encouraged in North Carolina and has been legal in the Durham city limits for over a decade, but it’s next to impossible under the city’s restrictions, the Treyburn homeowners association argued last summer when petitioning for a new ordinance.
On Monday night, the Durham City Council finally weighed in.
How did we get here?
North Carolina has around 1 million white-tailed deer, and populations are “rapidly increasing” in urban and suburban areas where hunting is banned, according to the state Wildlife Resources Commission.
Wildlife biologists say the ecological carrying capacity for deer in eastern North America ranges from 8 to 26 deer per square mile, meaning a healthy deer population in North Carolina could range from 400,000 to over 1.2 million.
In Treyburn, state biologists consulted by the homeowners association estimated there are 70 to 80 deer per square mile, Carlone said.
Overpopulation can cause overgrazing on vegetation and raises disease-transfer concerns, but the biggest threat to humans is on the road.
In recent years, North Carolina has averaged over 20,000 crashes a year involving an animal, according to the state Department of Transportation. Around 90% of the time, it’s a deer, the agency reports.
Between 2021 and 2023, the most recent years of DOT data available, crashes in Durham involving animals caused 39 injuries and more than $2.1 million in property damage.
In late 2013, Durham passed an ordinance permitting bow hunting throughout deer season.
There are strict rules that a property must be at least 5 acres, and that arrows can’t be released within 250 feet of any structure.
That’s proven limiting.
“During the 11 years that have transpired since the ordinance was adopted, staff has no knowledge of any bow hunting that has taken place in the city,” the city manager’s office reported.
Treyburn’s HOA asked the city to drop the minimum property size to 2 acres and the minimum distance from a building to 60 feet.
“Hunters would not be roaming the community,” resident Sally Burke said, explaining that they would shoot from tree stands on private property.
But the City Council was unpersuaded, and unanimously rejected the call for looser regulations on Monday.
“This would be an ordinance for the whole city, so I am concerned about unintended consequences elsewhere in Durham,” council member Carl Rist said.
Mayor Leonardo Williams said the Environmental Affairs Board will be asked for its advice on managing deer.
When is deer season in NC?
Deer season in this area runs from mid-September to Jan. 1, according to Carolina Sportsman.
The state oversees a separate urban archery season — Jan. 11 through Feb. 16 in 2025.
Participating cities in the Triangle include:
- Chapel Hill
- Clayton
- Wake Forest
This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Deer are driving a Durham neighborhood apart. Should hunting them in the city be easier?."
