White Buffalo Inc. kills 117 deer during 4-day stint in Oxford

White Buffalo Inc. set up at nine private properties across Oxford, killing 117 deer in over four days in early January.

According to Jessica Greene, assistant city manager for the City of Oxford, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) previously granted a permit to allow the city to kill an additional 17 deer. The decision followed the release of a baseline population survey.

Population survey

On Dec. 5, 2025, White Buffalo Inc. submitted a summary report detailing its deer population estimate in Oxford. From Dec. 1 through Dec. 3, the team conducted the estimate using a process called distance sampling, a statistical method that calculates the size or density of a population by surveying random transects, or roads, across an area.

Each evening from 6:15 until midnight, the team conducted spotlight surveys around town with a vehicle. Two individuals in the vehicle served as spotters, scanning both sides of the road with 2,200-lumen spotlights while traveling around 10 mph.

When a deer was spotted, the team recorded its age, sex and the number of deer in the group when possible. The collected data was then entered into software that helped estimate deer density.

According to the report submitted by the team on Dec. 5, 2025, between 67 and 102 deer were counted by the team, divided into 20 to 33 groups. According to the submitted report, more than 70% of Oxford’s deer population consisted of yearlings, adult females and juveniles.

City management

The Oxford Police Department’s animal control unit played a significant role in the deer management program, Greene said.

“They have been doing the baiting prior to the program,” Greene wrote in an email to the Oxford Free Press. “They have provided field support during the professional program and have been working many late nights to assist White Buffalo Inc. with deer pick-ups. They have also been coordinating the pick-up from the processor.”

The city’s sustainability coordinator, Reena Murphy, managed “each tag in the permit, assigned numbers and made daily reports to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources,” Greene said.

Greene said in the email the public has been largely supportive of White Buffalo Inc.’s work.

“White Buffalo Inc. has delivered on their commitment of professional population control,” she said. “Their hunting is extremely targeted, specific and safe.”

Additionally, Murphy wrote in an email to the Oxford Free Press, 4,558 pounds of ground venison has been donated to food pantries around Butler County.

Among organizations that received donations of venison were the Talawanda Oxford Pantry and Social Services, Community Meal Center, Shared Harvest Foodbank and Open Hands Food Pantry. 

Greene said the city had a “learning curve” leading up to the program, but staff performed as expected.

“We will measure the success of the population control based on the metrics in our Deer Management Plan sent to ODNR,” Greene said. “We have a baseline of deer-vehicle collisions and deer-staff interactions, primarily pick-ups, and we will see if those numbers decrease in 2026 with this program.”

The city will also be able to assess whether the program was successful if there is a decrease in public complaints regarding vegetation damage, Greene said.

“With improvements to our local deer management program and White Buffalo Inc.’s one-time professional population control, we hope to be able to locally manage the deer population in the future,” she said.

A final report detailing statistics on the sex, age and location of the deer will be released toward the end of January 2026.