Archers killed 199 deer as part of Pittsburgh culling program in parks

Nearly 200 deer were harvested as part of Pittsburgh’s deer management program over the 2024-25 archery season. A city harvest report said 92 of those deer were donated to local food banks, which provided 3,980 pounds of venison and 14,720 meals to residents.

Pittsburgh’s Department of Public Safety said the numbers signify “another successful year” of the archery-controlled Deer Management Program, which is part of an agreement between the City of Pittsburgh and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to cooperatively manage the wildlife damage from white-tailed deer.

Though white-tailed deer are a normal part of the ecosystem in Western Pennsylvania, the “unchecked and unmanaged” population has caused increased incidents of vehicle-deer collisions, overeating of native plant species and loss of natural fear, according to this year’s report.

This year, hunts took place in Frick, Riverview, Schenley, Highland, and Emerald View parks, according to the February report. There were no public safety incidents that resulted from the program, the city reported.

The harvest report included the following numbers:

• 69 deer at Frick Park
• 47 deer at Emerald View Park
• 47 deer at Schenley Park
• 19 deer at Riverview Park
• 17 deer at Highland Park
• Total: 199

However, the archery-controlled program isn’t enough to significantly reduce population numbers, according to the report.

As a result, the city decided to introduce another program to further shrink the deer population, Lee Schmidt, director of Pittsburgh Public Safety, announced.

The city is using contracted marksmen through March to control deer in two parks: Frick and Riverview.

The hunting occurs while the parks are closed overnight between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. — and completed by USDA-contracted marksmen trained to hit a one-inch target at 100 yards multiple times, the city said.

“In consultation with our partners at the USDA, we have decided to introduce a pilot targeted harvesting program in the hopes of shrinking our deer population,” Schmidt said in a statement. “We are grateful to the USDA for their continued expertise and guidance as we expand our program to ensure a healthy deer population in Pittsburgh.”

All of these harvested deer will be donated to local food pantries, the city said.