A controversial program has been underway on Staten Island for the last five years. It is a city initiative aimed at reducing Lyme disease, deer-vehicle collisions, and browse damage. Its costs have soared to $6.6 million. Some data indicates a significant drop in deer population, though others are inconclusive, lacking context, or insufficient. However, the number of swimmers each year isn’t known, complicating the controversial program. Regardless of the number, Staten Island’s congressman Max Rose supports controlled hunts. Deer vasectomies are not an effective way to curb the deer herd, especially given the lack of data on the annual number of deer. Deer vasectomies have also failed to reduce Lyme disease cases. Despite the high rates of male deer sex violence, the program’s goal is to drastically reduce the deer population in the neighborhood. Hundreds of deer were shot by hunters last year on Staten Island. The program is expected to reduce deer numbers by about 10 percent per year. In the future, it’s expected that a vasectomized male deer population will decrease by another 30 percent a year. The Staten Island Parks Department began receiving reports about deer in the city in 2000. The deer population has increased more than eight times in the past decade. In 2018, Staten Island deer caused more than a hundred road accidents and injured 17 people. In addition, the number of Lyme disease cases jumped by 250% between 2012 and 2016. The City Parks Department announced the program in June 2016, and since then, the borough has invested $4.1 million in it. The Staten Island park department has contracted with wildlife contractors White Buffalo for the sterilization program. The sterilization costs approximately $2,385 per deer. The City Parks Department and White Buffalo say the program has had a positive impact. The program will be extended for five years starting in September of 2019.