GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Residents in the Sun City Texas community in Georgetown are raising concerns over the possible return of a white tail deer trapping program in 2026 that has been on pause for the past few years.
A petition is currently circulating to stop the program, reigniting a debate that has surfaced before. In 2021, KXAN reported similar concerns from Sun City residents when the program was previously active.
“It is an abusive system of animal control, and it is archaic,” said Barbara Meisner, who has lived in Sun City for the past eight years. “I’d like to see a nonviolent, very kind approach [instead].”
Derrick Wolter with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) said communities have the discretion to manage deer populations and can apply for a special permit from TPWD to do so.
With that permit, trappers may set up nets a few feet off the ground and use corn to lure deer underneath. When a deer steps beneath the net, it drops and traps the animal. Trappers then load the deer onto trailers and transport them to a processing facility, where the deer are euthanized. State regulations require that the meat be donated to a charitable organization.
Laura Dole is another resident who lives in Sun City, and she remembers when deer were trapped in the community when the program was running.
“There is a trap that is set up catty corner behind my house, and I’ve heard the deer scream as they’re being loaded into a trailer,” Dore said. “It’s not a pretty sound.”
As of the beginning of October 2025, there have been 19 such permits issued in Williamson County and Travis County since 2011.
“Historically wildlife managed themselves, but nowadays we find ourselves in a lot of unique situations, different situations that that exist on the landscape,” Wolter said. “What you’ll see is in a lot of cases, [the community’s] interest in controlling or managing deer is related to issues like car auto accidents or possibly property damage related to ornamental plants around their residences.”
On Tuesday, Sun City Wildlife Management Committee had a private town hall event to discuss the return of this program with its residents. Since it was a private event, KXAN was unable to attend. KXAN reached out to Sun City Community for comment on this story and said it has no comment at this time.
The committee will have a workshop with its residents on Nov. 6th to explore and hear more options and thoughts on the matter. The final decision on moving forward with this program will be made on Nov. 20th by the Sun City Community Association.
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