Tega Cay Approves Its Smallest Deer Cull Yet: Up to 30 Deer This Season as the Count Holds Near 420

Tega Cay is scaling back its deer program again. At its Oct. 19 meeting, City Council voted to hire Lowcountry Wildlife Specialists to cull up to 30 deer during fiscal year 2026 to 2027, at a cost not to exceed $19,700, according to the city's council recap.

That is the smallest cull the city has approved since it started removing deer in 2024. Here is what changed, what the numbers show, and what is still unknown.

Why the number dropped

The decision follows the city's newest population survey. Folk Land Management counted deer on Sept. 1 and 2, 2026, and estimated about 421 deer in the city, according to Tega Cay's Wildlife Management Background page. Deputy City Manager Joey Blethen walked council through the survey before the vote.

That estimate is close to the July 2025 survey, which came in at about 432. Both are far below where things stood a few years ago. The same city page lists these estimates:

• December 2015: about 156 deer (South Carolina Department of Natural Resources)
• 2023: about 1,028
• August 2024: about 1,012
• July 2025: about 432
• September 2026: about 421

A separate fall 2025 survey by White Buffalo, the group that ran the city's sterilization program, put the count somewhere between 169 and 513. Surveys use different methods, so treat each figure as an estimate rather than a head count.

How Tega Cay got here

The deer issue has been on council's agenda for years. A 2022 resident survey on using sharpshooters split almost exactly in half: 1,016 yes and 1,010 no, according to the city.

Since then, the city has tried several approaches, all listed on its wildlife page:

• Early 2024: Two culling rounds led by the USDA at the Tega Cay Golf Course removed 36 deer.
• Fall 2024: White Buffalo sterilized deer from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1, 2024, at a cost of $268,677. The city reports 200 deer.
• 2024 to 2025 season: Lowcountry Wildlife Specialists removed 160 deer for about $59,200.
• 2025 to 2026 season: Lowcountry removed 80 deer (46 in December and 34 in early January) for about $42,382.

The new contract caps the season at 30 deer and $19,700. By our math, that works out to no more than about $657 per deer if all 30 are taken, higher per deer than past seasons but far less in total.

What residents should know

In past seasons, Lowcountry worked in the late evening hours on city owned property under a deer management permit from the state Department of Natural Resources, according to the city's Lowcountry culling page. The meat was processed and donated to the Catawba Indian Nation.

The city has not posted dates or locations for this season yet. The last two seasons ran from mid December into January or February, but that is a pattern, not a schedule. Questions go to City Hall at 7725 Tega Cay Drive or (803) 548-3512.

Also from the Oct. 19 meeting

The same council recap lists a few other items worth knowing:

• Street patching: Eddie Smith & Son's won the bid to patch streets around the city, not to exceed $45,000. The recap does not list which streets.
• Yard debris in Cameron Creek: The city reached an agreement with the Cameron Creek HOA to offer yard debris collection there. The HOA will send residents the details.
• Water planning: Jimmy Bagley of the Catawba Wateree Water Management Group presented on the Integrated Water Resources Plan for the river basin that supplies the area.
• Police programs: Chief Crosby announced two new Tega Cay Police Department programs, the Blue Envelope Program and Project Lifesaver. Details are on the city's site.

You can watch the full meeting on the city's YouTube recording, and agendas are posted in the city's Agenda Center.

What we do not know yet

The recap does not give a vote count, and the city has not said when this season's work will start or where it will take place. We will update this when the city posts the schedule.

Last verified October 24, 2026.