Staten Island's growing deer problem

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - This is how deer make their way to Staten Island: swimming. Frank Masseria took video of two deer swimming across the Arthur Kill from Perth Amboy to Tottenville.

The white-tailed deer population has become so out of control in the Borough of Parks that the city has teamed up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to solve the problem. An environmental assessment is underway then a decision will be made on how to control the population: death, sterilization, or fencing are all possibilities.

A state Department of Environmental Conservation officer told Fox 5 that the deer population is so out of control, lethal measures have to be taken because sterilization would take 10 to 12 years to work.

In a statement, Staten Island borough president James Oddo said that if something isn't done soon, the deer could contribute to: "...increases in tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease and a spike in deer/vehicle collisions that inevitably will result in serious injury or a fatality."

"The city Department of Transportation put up signs to warn drivers about deer on the roads. They're in 21 different locations around the borough.

Over at the South Shore Country Club, deer are here all the time. Everyone agrees something has to be done, it's a matter of when and how.