WHEELING – A Wheeling law firm has submitted FOIA requests to officials with a state agency and a city agency regarding a planned deer hunt in Wheeling’s Oglebay Park.
The Freedom of Information Act requests were sent September 21 to R. Gregory McDermott, chairman of the Wheeling Park Commission, and to Brett McMillion, director of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. The FOIAs were signed by Josh Miller with Toriseva Law.
The firm requests documents and information related to the scheduled deer hunt at the city’s Oglebay Park planned for November 6-8.
Toriseva
“Hunting wild animals in West Virginia is part of what makes us wild and wonderful,” attorney Teresa Toriseva told The West Virginia Record. “But Oglebay deer are not wild. Locals and tourists hand-feed Oglebay deer every day, and those deer develop a trust with the humans that feed them. Many people return to feed at the same time and same place every day thereby developing relationships with the deer, even naming them.”
Toriseva, who said she has hunted and has supported hunting her entire life, said she doesn’t know if any legal action will follow. She said the firm just wants to better understand the reason the planned hunt is happening, but she said concerned citizens worry about the Oglebay deer that are used to human interaction.
“Because this trust of humans has developed, Oglebay deer will walk up to the average human on any given day, even those humans who don’t have food,” she said. “On November 6-8, not only will those trusted humans not have food for the deer, they’ll have a weapon to kill them.
“The over-population problem may be real, but the slaughter of a tamed deer herd on public land intended for recreation should not be undertaken without other less cruel options having been tried.
“The problem is not hunting. The problem is that the entire herd of Oglebay deer have been tamed, and it’s common knowledge. They’re docile. We shouldn’t be slaughtering deer that were tamed by hand-feeding for years contrary to West Virginia law.”
In the FOIA requests, the firm requests copies of surveys, studies, reports and any compiled data related to the number of white-tail deer in Oglebay Park, including those that determine the population is five times the optimal amount per square mile in the park. It also requests any contracts or documents related to the planned deer hunt, documents about public safety for the planned hunt, plans and procedures for verifying potential participants in the planned hunt, documents regarding public safety such as traffic control and posted warnings for the planned hunt, documents regarding fees and permits for the planned hunt, documents regarding contracts and payments of money collected from the planned hunt, copies of policies regarding the feeding of deer in Oglebay Park and copies of meeting minutes from the last three years when the Oglebay deer population was discussed.
It also requests documents sent to any employee of Oglebay Park and/or the Wheeling Park Commission from the DNR about the park’s deer population.
The hunt is scheduled because, according to the DNR, the park’s deer population presents a safety concern for both park guests and the deer.
In an area is overpopulated by deer, the animals are more susceptible to disease, malnutrition and poor health. And dangerous interactions with humans, such as vehicle accidents, are more likely.
The Wheeling Park Commission says a limited number of applicants will be selected through a lottery system to participate in the three-day hunt. Those selected will be given a zone each day, and the hunters only will be allowed to use bows from a tree stand.
The commission says affected areas will be closed to the public during the hunt, and the hunters will not be allowed to stalk deer on the ground or track them within 300 feet of personal property.
