Cranbrook residents have quickly begun filling out the city's urban deer survey, which was posted online on Monday, March 10 at www.cranbrook.ca.
By Friday, March 14, more than 500 surveys had been completed both online and via paper copies available at city hall. The survey remains available until March 28 at 4:30 p.m.
"I am quite happy with the early response of our residents," said Chris Zettel, corporate communications officer with the City of Cranbrook. "I am beginning to see some trending with some of the results, but it is still too early to make any solid conclusions yet."
The survey gives residents the chance to have a say on how the city is managing the urban deer.
The results of the survey will be presented to council so it can see how residents feel about the issue and use that input to guide future direction of urban deer control.
The last time the public was surveyed about urban deer was September 2010, before the first urban deer count or cull. About 1470 residents completed the 2010 survey, with about 75 per cent of respondents saying they would like to see at least a 30 per cent decrease in Cranbrook's urban deer population.
Since then, Cranbrook has conducted two culls: one in December 2011 and one in February 2013. All meat was distributed to the Food Bank and Street Angels.
There have been some hiccups with the online survey, Zettel mentioned.
"Sometimes even with the best planning and testing, little things do come up. We've had a couple of small issues arise shortly after the survey went public, but those have been corrected," said Zettel. "I want to thank those residents that made us aware of those issues, so we could look after them."
Residents can access the survey online on the City's website – www.cranbrook.ca and click on 'Urban Deer Resident Survey' under City of Cranbrook Links on the homepage, at right.
For residents without access to a computer, printed versions of the survey are available for pick up at reception at City Hall during regular business hours.
Residents requesting a paper copy must provide photo identification with a City of Cranbrook mailing address to be able to get a survey. Completed surveys can be mailed back to City Hall or dropped off by the 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 28, 2014 deadline. Postmarks will not be accepted. Completed surveys must be received at City Hall by the deadline date. Late submissions will be disqualified.