Article Text
Fairfax County’s deer management program is expanding into Vienna, bringing police sharpshooters into public parks—including locations near residential properties.
County police outlined the plan during a Vienna Town Council work session on Monday, July 14. Under a memorandum of understanding reached in April, the county will be permitted to conduct deer-control operations within the town.
No deer will be killed on private property. Instead, officers will use bait in nearby parks and shoot from elevated positions. Operations are initially planned for five nights, and police said it could take several seasons to substantially reduce Vienna’s deer population.
Vienna Police Chief Jim Morris said the town does not experience the large number of reported deer crashes that typically prompts such programs. However, crews collected 32 deer carcasses from Vienna roadsides last year, despite the town covering only about four square miles.
Sgt. Eric Powell said deer move freely across municipal boundaries, noting that sterilized deer from Fairfax County have later been found dead along roads in Prince William County.
If officers begin recording fewer deer, Powell said, future operations will be scaled back.
Police maintained that the program will be safe for residents. All shooters will be Fairfax County police officers equipped with thermal-imaging scopes, and shots will be taken from roughly 25 to 40 yards away. Although the culling will occur in public parks, some shooting sites could be close to houses.
Councilmember Sandra Allen expressed concern about using firearms in residential areas where children may be nearby.
The council did not hold a formal vote, but a majority supported moving forward during an informal poll.
Vienna has considered hunting as a way to manage deer for years. In 2010, council members discussed possibly changing the town code, which prohibits shooting bows and arrows.
The issue returned last fall when Councilmember Chuck Anderson wrote in the town’s monthly newsletter that Vienna should examine its options for controlling deer and invasive species.
The council subsequently asked Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn to help include Vienna in the Fairfax County Police Department program. That request was approved in December 2024.
On April 28, the council adopted an ordinance allowing specially trained police officers or licensed contractors to use sharpshooting for deer management. It also approved a ban on feeding deer and other wild animals.
Fairfax County generally permits deer removal through sharpshooting and archery from fall through winter. The program killed 773 deer during the 2024 season, with volunteer archers accounting for most of them.