26 deer were killed on opening day of the Blue Hills hunt
Another hunt will take place Tuesday.
More than two dozen deer were killed during the first deer hunt on the Blue Hills Reservation since 1893, reports The Boston Globe.
State officials are coordinating a series of deer hunts on the conservation land to curb what they say is an overgrown deer population that puts the public at risk of Lyme disease and strips the forest of its undergrowth, reports the Globe. The decision has been met with protests by animal rights activists.
More than 80 hunters killed 26 deer Monday, on the first of four scheduled hunts this month. According to a 2013 study, there are 85 deer per square mile in the Blue Hills, well above the 7 to 14 per square mile considered healthy by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Protesters question the validity of that study and say innocent animals are being slaughtered.
Hunts will take place Tuesday and then again on Dec. 7 and Dec. 8.
Read the full story in the Globe.
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