"Through much of the United States, suburban deer aren’t likely to starve," said Charles Lee, K-State Research and Extension wildlife specialist. "The more concentrated they get, however, the more danger they’ll become – to themselves and to city motorists – and the greater the herd’s odds will be for developing diseases.

"By that time, of course, they may already have killed out the understory in wooded areas and caused other non-reversible damage to the environment -- changing the landscape permanently. We don’t see those kinds of impacts in most rural habitat because predators and wildlife management policies such as hunting keep the deer numbers in balance."

Moving deer out of town is no real solution, he added. Other deer herds already are populating the available rural space.

But, one alternative is to open a suburban hunting season, Lee said.

"History has shown that hunters are willing to help and effective in reducing deer numbers," he said. "Well-trained, experienced hunters can safely remove deer in suburban areas without major problems."

For that to happen, city governments would have to deal with their own laws and regulations and "perhaps develop a management plan that looks at all options for deer control," the specialist said.

"That’s being talked about now in the Kansas City area. It’s already been done in places such as Chicago and St. Louis," Lee said. "It’s much safer for city residents and more humane for the deer than waiting for disease or car traffic to do the job."