#NYC halts Staten Island deer vasectomy program amid budget cuts

The city is giving its pricey Staten Island deer-vasectomy program the snip for the rest of the year due to Parks Department budget cuts.

The $6.6 million program, now in its fifth year, was designed to trim the borough’s randy deer population by sterilizing bucks — but will now be put on ice until June of next year, the end of the fiscal year, the Staten Island Advance reported.

City officials said they simply can’t afford it for now.

“During these unprecedented times, we have been tasked with making difficult decisions especially as it pertains to our budget,” Parks Department spokeswoman Charisse Hill told the outlet.

“We have temporarily placed our successful deer sterilization contract on hold for FY21 along with cutting some deer and other wildlife-related marketing expenses. This totals $700,000.”

The city contracted White Buffalo in 2016 to address the island’s abundance of horny deer, who have caused car accidents on the borough’s boards.

Initially expected to cost $3.3 million, the price tag ballooned by nearly $1 million after the contractor said it found more deer than it had expected, with more than 2,000 counted.

After three years White Buffalo was given a new five-year, $2.5 million contract to perform the vasectomies.

As of April, the city said 93 percent of Staten Island’s antlered deer had been sterilized, the Advance said.

The city, which faces a $9 billion shortfall, was forced to make drastic budget cuts in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown that dealt a massive blow to the Big Apple’s economy.

“We will continue working with partners as we pursue new ways and funding to reduce the impact of deer on Staten Island,” Hill said.