Chesterfield supervisors tonight unanimously agreed to wait three months before voting on an ordinance prohibiting the use of a bow and arrow within 600 feet of a home.
The issue arose in response to complaints from Salisbury residents in the Midlothian area concerned that bow hunters were hunting too close to homes where children were playing.
Currently, property owners are not allowed to shoot arrows onto other peoples property. The use of a firearm is prohibited within 600 feet of a home.
Of the dozens who spoke at tonight's Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors meeting, most vehemently opposed the change; they said bow hunting is needed to thin the county's growing deer population. Deer have adapted to suburban life, become tame and are living in and near neighborhoods for easy food, they said.
"This ordinance, as it's penned right now, would hamstring the ability for us to control and manage the deer growth in Chesterfield County and it's already exploding in the Midlothian District," said Kevin Carroll, a Chesterfield resident representing the Virginia Deer Hunters Association.
In fact, at least one Salisbury homeowner hired a bow hunter to kill deer on his property, said Ed Malloy, vice president of the Salisbury Homeowners' Association.
Many speakers said that the deer are causing auto accidents. The county has had 1,465 deer-related accidents since 2004, said Carroll, who is also a county police officer. -- Wesley P. Hester
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