NYC seeks to sterilize Staten Island deer

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - In recent years, the deer population on Staten Island has grown. Now officials want to sterilize the male deer by giving them vasectomies.

City officials say there are more and more cars hitting deer because the deer population is out of control. It is estimated there are between 750 and 1,000 deer. And it's not because they're migrating here. It is because they're reproducing.
　
To cut down on the number of deer, the city is proposing sterilizing the male deer. Officials say it is faster, cheaper and more humane than sterilizing the females.
　
City Councilman Joseph Borelli says that Staten Island has also seen an uptick in Lyme disease. He also says that the deer have affected vegetation on the island, too.

This is how it would work. The bucks would be shot with a tranquilizer dart and then a vasectomy would be performed, which takes about 15 minutes. Officials predict the sterilization will reduce the deer population on Staten Island by 10 to 30 percent.
　
The state has to approve the proposal. But if it gives the green light, the sterilizing would begin in the fall.