HELENA — Helena Police Department and wildlife managers have wrapped up their annual deer culling operation that follows the urban deer count in early fall.

To help reduce overpopulation, deer culling kills off part of the population, minimizing the risk of damage caused and diseases spread by deer.

With Montana’s milder winters deer populations are under less stress and are producing more offspring, making the 2024 urban deer count the highest population density per square mile to date.

After the deer are trapped and euthanized, they are studied for chronic wasting disease, ticks, and other illnesses to determine areas of focus for the following year.

The meat is processed by Old Salt and donated to Helena Food Share with well over one thousand pounds given this year.

The limit was 250 deer and in the culling period, 94 were dispatched.

When Montana’s bitter cold does hit, it adds challenges to the annual deer cull.

Sean McCarthy, the Helena Police Department urban wildlife animal control officer says, "We unfortunately had several weeks of cold cold weather this year that stops the trapping process of the cull. It is the lowest amount of time frame that we have had traps running."

The traps were in use for around 33 days.

Although the main cull period ranges from November to March, injured and ill deer will be managed year round with 77 being culled this year for those reasons.