BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Officials in northern Idaho say they are considering using contraceptive vaccines to curb a growing deer population that has caused residential headaches for years.
City council members in Dalton Gardens -- a bedroom community north of Coeur d'Alene -- say they've seen no drop in the population despite making it illegal to feed the deer nearly a year ago.
Incoming Mayor Steve Roberge says the city will no longer seek out trapping and removal of local deer when he takes office. Instead, he says the council will discuss approving birth control vaccines in early 2016 rather than rely on trapping or hunting methods to reduce animal population.
The vaccine, distributed through a dart gun, would sterilize deer for up to two years.
