Oglebay said in a statement: “Currently our team is reviewing the legal filing and preparing to proceed with a thoughtful and appropriate course of action that best fits with the needs of our park and local community. Accordingly, we are proud to say that the scheduled hunt is part of a much larger environmental sustainability and wildlife management plan that we started back in 2017, and look forward to continuing to sustain the greater ecosystem of the Park”
Oglebay is planning an Urban Deer Culling at their resort on November 6-8 to curb the rapidly growing deer population within West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle region.
Wheeling Attorney Teresa Toriseva filed the petition claiming that the lawsuit makes no attempt to stop the hunting of wild animals in West Virginia, nor does it attempt to stop all future public hunts at Oglebay.
” This lawsuit is about a beloved local, municipal park resorting to a public hunt of a tame
deer herd within the park boundaries when the park executives have no scientific basis for the
perceived overpopulation of deer, have made no attempts to stop the reason the deer are tame, and have marketed and benefitted from the hand-feeding of the deer herd. Both baiting and hand-feeding are illegal on public land in West Virginia to prevent the very problem created here,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit also mentions Dr. Karl E. Yurko, a veterinarian, who operates an animal
hospital that touches Oglebay Park property. Toriseva says Dr. Yurko reviewed the facts of the case and has agreed that the hunt is premature. It also states that Dr. Yurko will testify as an expert if needed at a hearing set by the Court.
A ruling will be made on the lawsuit in Ohio County Court on Friday, October 13.
