The live trapping of whitetail deer in Weyburn's Elk Park has been working well so far, with 11 deer moved out of that residential area so far, said conservation officer Lindsey Leko.

Conservation officers with Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management (SERM) began live trapping the deer a couple weeks ago as a herd of some 15 deer had moved into the park area located between Zabel Bay and Elm Crescent north of Douglas Road.

Some days the officers have found two deer in the trap, although there haven't been any deer caught in it the last couple of nights.

The deer are being moved out to the provincial Wildlife Development lands north of Khedive, near to the Brokenshell PFRA pasture.

"We'll set the trap for a couple more days, and then shut it down over Christmas. When we let the deer go they run right towards the coulee. There's lots of cover and feed there for them," said Leko.

If no more are caught in the Elk Park area, the trap will likely be moved down to the River Park area, where there are an estimated 25 deer in the area.

The live trap has been working much better than tranquillizing the animals has, said Leko, adding this method seems to be easier on the deer. When the animals are released out in Brokenshell, they take off right away, where tranquillized deer have to be watched for a couple of hours until they wake up.

There have been a few complaints of deer eating people's trees, but once TKO is applied it seems to be keeping the deer away. TKO is a diluted citrus-based detergent that repels deer both by smell and by taste.

Asked how the feeding station north of Souris Valley is working, Leko said the feed has been disappearing, but he still sees food left for them at Coulter Field on the Souris Valley grounds despite a large sign urging people not to feed deer there.

The deer are affected by vehicle traffic through the area, he added, both of snowmobiles and vehicles as people go sightseeing for deer.