INDIANAPOLIS (AP): A plan has been approved to allow deer hunting for the first time in the park along Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis. 
 
The city parks board voted unanimously Thursday night to endorse the proposal for deer hunts by disabled military veterans, followed by a team of professional sharpshooters. The hunts in the 3,900-acre park could happen between October and January.
 
Park visitor Margaux Oliver told the board she disagreed with the hunting plan, comparing it to shooting fish in a barrel.
 
But parks board president John Williams says Eagle Creek Park's large number of deer have hurt its ecology and that many of the animals are scrawny and unhealthy.
 
Deer hunts have been conducted in state parks over the past 20 years to control their populations.