By Associated Press
Buffalo, NY – Several Buffalo area towns with deer problems credit their bait-and-shoot programs with reducing the number of car accidents involving the animals.
Amherst, Clarence, Cheektowaga and North Tonawanda use the programs to control the deer population. Officials say reducing the number of car-deer collisions makes local roads safer.
In the city of North Tonawanda, there were 77 car-deer collisions last year. After police shot more than 150 deer over a five-month period, the number of accidents blamed on deer has fallen to 15 this year.
In Amherst, the number of car-deer crashes went down last year and is expected to decrease this year.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, each year there are about 1.5 million vehicle accidents involving deer.