Hunting on golf course makes neighbors want to move

Neighbors move due to hunting on golf course
Updated: Dec. 17, 2017 at 7:07 PM EST
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LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - "For Sale" signs have gone up in an area where hunters and neighbors continue a battle several years long.

For several years, Matt Brooks and his neighbors have expressed concerns with a group hunting on the Pennsylvania Run Golf Course, located at the end of their block.

Hunters said the hunting helps a local business control wildlife. Nearby residents said the hunting is a nuisance and potentially dangerous.

"You just don't want hunting by your home with your dogs and your kids around," Brooks said.

Since the beginning of fall, Brooks has seen four of his neighbors on Oreland Mill Road put their homes up for sale. He said he may be the next to move.

William Peabody hunts during the season to help control the population of geese and ducks, he said.

"We are trying to help the golf course so that the geese are not flying on the golf course and tearing up the greens," William Peabody said.

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According to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, it is legal to hunt in the area, as long as it is done in a safe and ethical way.

"We all take a hunter safety course," Peabody said. "We never shoot toward the direction of their homes."

Brooks believes hunting shouldn't be allowed within 300 yards of a residential area. He has contacted law enforcement and his local representative regarding the hunting.

"We are out here struggling on the weekends," Brooks said. "We try to live a normal life but the noise is so loud."

District 13 Council Woman Vicki Whelch said shooting guns is becoming much more prevalent in the rural parts of her district. In the case of the golf course, as long as the hunters have permission from the owner, there is nothing to be done, Whelch said.

"I don't want to be banging guns that early in the morning up against someone's house. We are usually 220 yards from the people's home," Peabody said.

Peabody wants to continue hunting to maintain the golf course and Brooks wants the hunting to stop so he can live in peace. One thing they both agree on: They are sick of the back-and-forth.

"I understand they have a business to run, but they have to understand they are in a neighborhood," Brooks said.

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