Are you aware that Dunes West is considering culling +-100 deer per year ?

Urgent Call to Action: Vote NO in the November 2025 Survey!

Protect Your Home's Value: A "YES" could trigger significant devaluations—don't let 66% approval lock in yearly culling and ongoing price drops. Last year, only 53% favored it—your NO vote can tip the scales!
Beware the Hidden Dangers: This isn't just about deer; it's about massive costs, legal risks, and negative publicity that could haunt Dunes West for years.

Key Facts on Culling Risks

Live Ammunition in Your Neighborhood: Deer would be shot with real bullets near homes, risking accidents, injuries, and lawsuits.
Irreversible and Costly: Once approved, culling could happen annually at $500 per deer (plus $60,000 insurance per event), totaling up to $1 million borne by homeowners—equating to about $1,000 per deer removed.
Home Value Erosion: Expect substantial decreases in property prices due to backlash and stigma, with yearly events compounding the losses.
Currently Illegal: Culling is banned in Mount Pleasant, raising questions about potential legal battles.

Why Vote NO? Strong Reasons to Oppose

Sky-High Costs: A $1 million hit to the community budget—funds better spent elsewhere.
Safety and Liability Nightmares: Firing live rounds invites errors, harm to residents/pets, and damaging publicity that could scare off buyers.
Proven Ineffectiveness: Deer will simply migrate back from nearby areas like Rivertowne and Park West, creating an endless, expensive cycle. No other Mount Pleasant neighborhood has adopted this because it doesn't solve the problem!
Community Consensus: Join the growing opposition to preserve Dunes West's appeal, safety, and home values—vote NO to avoid regret.

Common Sense Questions:

High Insurance Costs Highlight Risks: The $60,000 insurance premium per culling event underscores the inherent dangers. If it were truly risk-free, such costly coverage wouldn't be necessary—protecting against potential accidents, injuries, or property damage.
Impact on Neighborhood Appeal and Safety: Would you invest in a home where live ammunition is fired near residential areas? This introduces unnecessary hazards to families, children, and pets, potentially deterring buyers and tarnishing the community's reputation.
Visual and PR Nightmare: A single wounded deer bleeding out on a resident's lawn could become a viral image, harming property values and making Dunes West less desirable to prospective buyers.
Financial Hit to Homeowners: With average home prices around $1.2 million, even a conservative 10% drop due to culling controversies could cost each owner $120,000 in equity—far outweighing any short-term benefits.
Questionable Presentation Claims: References like "Clothe the homeless" in the official presentation suggest a lack of thorough research or relevance, as deer culling in Dunes West clearly won't address broader social issues like homelessness.
Biased Survey Design: Why do 5 out of 7 survey options lead to a "yes" on culling? This skewed structure raises concerns about impartiality and could manipulate outcomes rather than reflect true community sentiment.
Ineffective Long-Term Solution: Culling won't prevent deer from migrating in from neighboring areas like Park West, creating an endless, costly cycle of interventions without solving the root problem.
Weighing Hate vs. Cost: Even if you dislike the deer, a "yes" vote could devalue your home by $120,000 or more. Is temporary relief worth such a massive financial loss? Vote no to protect your investment and safety.

Pushback against the Nextdoor/Facebook narrative:

Much of the conversation has focused on deer eating landscaping and residents wanting to plant any flowers they like.
The hard truth: Like it or not, we live with deer in Dunes West — and that will never change.
Shooting half the herd in hopes of planting tulips everywhere ignores basic biology:
- Deer reproduce quickly
- Easy food = more deer
- The population would grow again in just 2–3 years
This is the same short-term thinking that created the "problem" in the first place
There are proven, sensible, long-term solutions that avoid turning our neighborhood into a PR nightmare with armed sharpshooters or police-supervised culls:
- Community-wide encouragement (or guidelines) for deer-resistant landscaping
- Organized feeding deterrence programs proven effective in dozens of similar communities
- Fertility control and other non-lethal tools now widely used across the Southeast
Killing deer may feel like a quick fix, but it is not sustainable — and it will genuinely damage our property values
No buyer wants to hear: “Oh, and every year they bring in sharpshooters to thin the deer”
Most of us would rather replace a few plants each year and watch home values keep rising than take a permanent hit to resale price for a temporary “solution”

Low Velocity Rounds explained:

What is it: "low velocity" rounds typically refer to cartridges with muzzle velocities under about 2,200–2,400 feet per second (fps)

Public Safety Risks from Bullet Over-Travel: Risks Even low-velocity rounds can travel far if you miss the deer or it deflects (e.g., off bone). These cartridges are designed for close-range woods hunting (under 200 yards), but a miss at a 30–45° angle can send the bullet arcing hundreds of yards—potentially into backyards, roads, or playgrounds

Wounding Over Kills: Low-velocity hits (below 1,400 fps at impact) may not expand properly, creating narrow wounds. Deer can run 100–300+ yards into neighboring yards before dying, leaving gut-shot animals suffering in view of residents (e.g., expiring on a lawn)

POA Deer Culling Presentation Slides:

Response to POA:

Claim: "No vote in 2025"

Rebuttal: They need 66% support in the November survey to push for legal changes allowing firearms. This is the deciding step.

Claim: "Only a brief dip in home values

Rebuttal: "Buyers will factor in the ongoing risk of annual gunfire and culling. Yearly culls = yearly risk.

Claim: "Most shots on common/golf course property"

Rebuttal: No permission from the golf club yet. No guarantee shots stay in "common areas." Residential lots border these zones.

Claim: "Survey is neutral"

Rebuttal: Only 2 clear NOs. 5 of 7 options lean YES to killing deer: "Very likely", "Likely", "Maybe", "I need more info", "Undecided" VS "Unlikely", "Very Unlikely"