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Last updated on Thursday, November 13, 2014
(BLOOMINGTON) - More than 30 advocates protested in the cold Wednesday night against the impending deer kill in Griffy Lake Nature Preserve.
The group gathered in front of Bloomington Hall with signs and chanted as members of the City Council entered the building.
The protest was organized by the deer advocacy group BANIDS, who for months have opposed the idea of sharpshooting deer as a means of protecting Griffy's biodiversity.
The issue of the council's decision to sharp-shoot deer was not officially on the agenda Wednesday night, but Bloomington residents, one after another, spoke at the meeting on the matter.
BANIDS has tried many different ways to get the deer kill overturned.
BANIDS has obtained documents through Freedom of Information Act requests that contain "secret information" about the facts used to support the deer kill, which will be released to the public in the coming weeks.
Sharpshooters from White Buffalo Inc. will begin culling deer at Griffy Lake Nature Preserve in an effort to control the population and preserve the park's ecosystem.
The Bloomington Board of Park Commissioners unanimously approved a $31,000 sharpshooting contract with White Buffalo, a nonprofit wildlife management company to kill up to 100 deer.
President of White Buffalo Tony DeNicola says his team has already conducted three site visits at Griffy to survey the topography of the land and determine areas to set up bait stations which will happen sometime between November 15 through February 28.
The exact date of the hunts will not be made public, for safety issues. The park will be closed to the public the days of the hunt.
All deer killed will be processed and the meat donated to Hoosier Hills Food Bank.
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