WALKER, Mich. — City leaders in Walker are planning a controlled deer hunt to help curb deer-related car crashes in the city.
The hunt, according to the city, would likely happen this winter after deer hunting season ends and allow hunters and local law enforcement to harvest deer on private property in the city.
Apart from permits from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that would allow for out-of-season hunting, all other deer hunting regulations would apply. The city would also need permission from private landowners to hunt on their property.
WATCH: 'It's not safe for our residents': Walker plans controlled deer hunt to reduce crashes, overpopulation
Deer harvested through the hunt would be processed locally, with their venison donated to a food pantry.
"How do we make the city safer and our roadways safer?" Walker City Manager Shay Gallagher said. "That's why we're looking at this today."
"This is not a cull," Gallagher said. "This is targeted deer reduction to help reduce traffic safety issues."
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In 2025, Walker recorded 159 deer-car crashes, more than any other city or township in Kent County. That meant a deer was more likely to die in a crash than by a hunter's bullet or arrow.
Kent County also routinely leads all other counties in Michigan by the same measure.
"We're just ready for not so many deer, as pretty as they are," said June Preisner, a Kent County neighbor. "It's dangerous and costly."
Preisner says deer have become so prevalent in her neighborhood that her grandkids do not play in the backyard "because there is so much deer doo-doo."
"We have seen everything that a deer can do, and some things we don't want to see," Preisner said.
A controlled hunt in Walker, she says, could be the start of a solution.
"There has to be a balance between letting them be free and hunting them for safety," she said.
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Because Walker sits between the heavily populated Grand Rapids and the more rural Alpine and Tallmadge townships, interactions between deer and people are more common.
"They're kind of part of the neighborhood," said Kelsey Freybler, a Kent County neighbor. "We call them city deer. We've had them born in the backyard."
"I love seeing the deer," Freybler said. "But they’re everywhere."
