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Residents have been making their voices heard on the topic of deer in Columbus.
Columbus City Council and the Department of Neighborhoods are partnering on an initiative to examine the impact of the white-tailed deer population in our community. After consulting with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and The Ohio State University, the city launched a community survey in Summer 2025 to better understand Columbus residents’ general sentiments surrounding deer in neighborhoods. The survey also collected feedback on potential city-led deer management strategies, to help the city identify practical ways to manage issues associated with our deer population.
This survey was closed in August 2025. We sincerely thank the nearly 4,000 residents who completed the survey in an effort to help us determine how best to manage our relationships with our four-legged neighbors. In Fall of 2025, the city continued our partnership with OSU in analyzing the results of the community survey to better understand key trends in perceptions of deer and deer management options. The report summarizing these findings can be found here(PDF, 3MB) .
On Wednesday, February 18, Council and the Department of Neighborhoods will be hosting a community conversation to explore the different deer management approaches with subject-matter experts. The conversation will be held at the Whetstone Community Center starting at 6:30 p.m. You can RSVP in the form below.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Jacob Dilley at jadilley@columbus.gov. If you would like to read more on deer management, please visit ODNR's website.
Click here to view form.