Part of the herd in the deer pen in Iron Mountain's City Park. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News, file)

IRON MOUNTAIN — A new home might await the deer at Iron Mountain City Park but not every hurdle has been cleared, city officials said.

Mayor Dale Alessandrini on Monday said he hopes to give an update at the city council’s next meeting March 16 but declined to give specifics.

City Manager Jordan Stanchina confirmed there may be facilities willing to accept the deer. However, the city’s pursuit of “permits and permissions” remains ongoing, he said.

The herd has been a City Park attraction since at least the 1940s, but the council faces a U.S. Department of Agriculture order to correct pen deficiencies. In May, Dr. Brianna Waldrop, a USDA veterinary medical officer, instructed the city to improve the 6-acre enclosure and develop a care plan under supervision of a local veterinarian.

At a Feb. 2 meeting, facing a deadline for renewing the pen’s licensing, the council voted 5-2 to eliminate the pen and its 17 deer. With no legal option for relocating the herd, city officials expected to begin preparations to have the animals shot and processed into venison for food banks.

Two weeks ago, Bridge Michigan reported the Michigan Department of Natural Resources was open to granting an exception that could allow a transfer. The city understands its license for the facility doesn’t allow the deer to be moved, but a reclassification by the DNR could open the door for the USDA to provide a permit for relocation.

That scenario depends on the animals testing negative for disease, Bridge was told by Samantha Courtney, a cervidae coordinator for the DNR Wildlife Division.

Culling has long been practiced to keep the City Park pen manageable, but never has the city faced a decision to remove the entire herd. Six animals identified by Waldrop as showing signs of illness were culled after her visit, including a pregnant doe believed to be 21 years old.

Supporters of the deer pen, including Friends of City Park, have encouraged the city to maintain the attraction. Critics, meanwhile, have termed it a cruelty perpetuated by decades of inbreeding.

Last summer, Ingalls veterinarian Dr. Barry Wehner drafted a plan to convert the pen into a breeding facility where animals might eventually be moved in and out. Stanchina last month provided a cost estimate for the conversion that included a one-time pen expense of $22,000 and ongoing spending of roughly $16,000 a year for grain, straw, tuberculosis testing and Wehner’s consultations.

The veterinarian had also recommended culling aged and infirm deer on a regular basis and removing antlers in the fall.

“Animals older than 10 to 12 years of age should be removed from the herd to avoid arthritic and mobility problems,” Wehner said in a July memo to the council. “Options for removal include harvest and salvage of the meat for the local food bank if the animals are in satisfactory condition.”

Wehner also said his inspection in early June found the remaining deer to be “in excellent physical shape.”

The cost estimate for Wehner’s plan was delayed for months as the city waited for him to respond on what his fees might be. That raised doubts among the council on whether a breeding facility could be viable in the long term. The only veterinarian in the region who had appeared willing to oversee the pen was Wehner.

After the council’s Feb. 2 vote to end the pen, Stanchina reported at a Feb. 16 meeting that a “special exception” might be secured to move the animals to another facility.

———

Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.