The City of New Braunfels has a serious problem. Between 500 to 600 deer are killed every year in the city, most due to car crashes. Right now, city leaders are thinking about a solution to fix the problem. City staff is recommending to council to pass an ordinance to ban people from feeding the wildlife like the deer, ducks and geese.
The city’s Director of Public Works Greg Malatek said his team has partnered with experts at Texas Parks and Wildlife on the issue. The two main issues driving the proposed ban are safety and the health of the wildlife. “The last thing we want to do is to remove all the deer and all the ducks from New Braunfels,” Malatek said. “It is just to get it to a manageable safe number.”
Best friends Ashley Baxter and Victoria Kelly visit Landa Park often just to feed the deer. “Yeah, at least once or twice a week,” they said.
They aren’t a fan of the proposal that would ban them from feeding the wildlife. “I think it is ridiculous,” Kelly said.
"Same," Baxter added. “I do not like it. I mean Landa Park is known for feeding deer. I don’t see the point in stopping that.”
Malatek said the city is overpopulated with deer, and that causes problems for people. “The city of New Braunfels is actually double what the state rate is for folks hitting deer,” Malatek said.
Malatek said the problem of feeding the deer isn't limited to what people feed them.
“Well, what if you go to the feed store and go get special pellets?” he said. “According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, that is not good for the animals. They need to forage on their own. The hope is that it lessens the number here in New Braunfels.”
The final details of the proposal have not been released. But if the ordinance does pass, people could be issued a citation if they are caught feeding. The city doesn't have a fine amount yet, or a specific plan to enforce it.
“I see a lot of people come to Landa Park, and feed the ducks white bread and Oreos just a lot of different things that aren’t good for the animals,” Malatek said. “It is not good for us, and it is not good for the animals.”
The city did get the public’s feedback. There were two meetings, and a survey in which 67 percent said something needs to happen with the wildlife. Staff plans to work more on this proposal and present again to the council at a meeting in late July or August. The key they say will be education and outreach.