Westover City Council Considers Urban Bowhunt

WESTOVER — Archery deer hunting could begin within Westover city limits as early as this fall.

At its Aug. 5 meeting, the Westover City Council will consider creating an urban bow hunt similar to the annual hunt held in Morgantown every year since 2011.

Rick Bebout has managed the Morgantown program since its inception. He outlined some of the details at the Westover City Council meeting Monday.

“Over the years we have received an increasing number of calls from your residents here in Westover who are complaining about deer and want to establish their own hunt independent of us,” he said.

Since its inception as a means of controlling the deer population, the Morgantown Hunt has harvested 1,271 animals and provided more than 13,000 pounds of ground venison to area food departments through a voluntary donation program.

During that time, Bebout said, hunting has maintained a perfect safety record while the city has seen a marked decrease in the number of animals struck by vehicles and the amount of property damage inflicted by hungry deer.

Westover resident Gary Marlin weighed in on this.

“I have four motion sensors around my small garden. Three or four times a week I get woken up in the middle of the night to chase deer away from my flowers and vegetables. So I’m all for it,” he says.

If Westover moves forward with the hunt, the first task will be to assemble a group of volunteers to essentially run the program, vet potential hunters and work with interested landowners.

“Some of our members who hunt with us are Westover residents and I think they would be exceptional leaders in this program,” Bebout said. “They would be able to work with the DNR officer and get things done.”

The main concern expressed by council members was the city’s exposure in a worst-case scenario.

Bebout said it’s no longer something he’s worried about, explaining: “The way we do things in our program, safety is the top priority.”

He said the West Virginia Code protects landowners from liability if they allow hunting and fishing on their land. Additionally, he said hunters are selected based on their experience and potential deer hunting sites are chosen to avoid contact with people and pets.

But who would ultimately be responsible if someone was shot, Councilwoman Alli Jackson insisted.

Attorney Tim Stranko said liability would be determined by the details of the scenario, but the list would start with the person holding the bow.

“Is there civil liability? There is in everything we do, including driving on the road. Can we say that there is no risk? I don’t think that’s a fair answer. Can we say that we have experience here that proves there is no risk to the city? Maybe that’s something you have to decide for yourself.”