According to Bridgeport Police Department staff members, there have been several inquiries about this year’s urban deer hunt, which starts Sat., Sept. 12 and runs throughout the remainder of 2015.

 

After being approved by City Council through two readings of an ordinance, there are some changes to this year’s hunt, said Bridgeport Deputy Police Chief Randy Hartley.

 

“The big changes include online check-in,” he said. “We also keep a log here in the police station so hunters are required by the ordinance to still come in to the station to check in and we’ll provide information to check in on the Internet.”

 

Another major change is that those who acquire a city license to participate in the urban deer hunt must harvest at least two does before killing a buck. That decision was made based on last year’s harvest numbers, Hartley said.

 

“Last year, we did 118 permits and only harvested 52 deer and those deer were harvested by 15 or 20 people,” he said. “We thought maybe people were getting city permits and coming in to wait on the large antler deer instead of doing what this harvest was started to do – to limit and control the deer population in the city.”

 

Therefore, urban deer hunters must fulfill obligations of their city license before using their state license to kill a deer in the city. The way the new ordinance is written, each hunter is allowed to harvest seven deer in the urban hunt, so at least five of them must be doe. The hunter can kill a buck after two doe, then another buck after three doe.

 

“In previous years, once their state license went into effect – on the last Saturday of September – if someone was hunting on an approved tract of land in the city and a large antler deer came in, they were able to harvest that deer and check it in on their state license,” Hartley said. 

 

Another change implemented this year through the ordinance was that only those acquiring a Class Y license because of a medical condition would be permitted to use crossbows during the urban hunt, but that provision is presently up in the air, Hartley said.

 

“That might be an issue right now since crossbows are now legal in the entire state,” he said.

 

If it is deemed that that portion of the ordinance must be changed, the revision would have to go back to City Council and be approved after two readings.

 

Landowners who have two continuous acres and wish to offer their land for use in the urban deer hunt can pick up an Urban Deer Tract Application at Bridgeport Police Station after August 1, Monday through Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and thereafter return the completed application to the police station before August 25. 

 

“Then Chief (John) Walker and I will come look at the property to see if it qualifies and assign it a tract number,” Hartley said.

 

Those interested in hunting must participate in meetings and proficiency testing which will take place Tues., Aug. 25, Thurs., Aug. 27 and Sat., Aug. 29.

 

Urban hunters must be West Virginia residents age 18 or older and must have a state hunting license and pass proficiency testing.

 

“You have to shoot five arrows into a nine-inch high plate at 20 yards and all five arrows must hit inside the circle to pass the proficiency test,” he said.

 

Previously, certification was good for five years, Hartley said. Now, requalification is at the discretion of the police chief or a designee, Hartley said. That is because various factors, including an accident or other medical conditions, could affect that proficiency.

 

Read the ordinance in its entirety HERE at the City of Bridgeport Web site and obtain more information about the hunt HERE.