Several animals in the Foothill elk herd, which has made headlines for coming into busy areas of eastern Salt Lake City, were recently killed after being hit by vehicles. Additional animals have been killed by hunters.

“I don’t have that number,” said Scott Root with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. “I know that some have been harvested legally.”

Residents in the foothills said they noticed a big uptick in hunters once the herd began making news headlines.

“I usually see two or three hunters,” said Jamie Clyde. “I’ve seen maybe fifty. Unfortunately some of the coverage of the elk on the road brought most of the hunters out. That next Saturday, it was pretty busy up here with hunting.”

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Wildlife officials said hunters, as long as they’re on public land and following all rules, aren’t doing anything wrong.

“It is kind of alarming when you live there and you see somebody with a rifle, you know, walking up the mountain not too far from you,” said Root. “But as long as they follow the rules, they’re legal to do so, and you know these people would love the meat. It’s basically a very valuable source of meat for a lot of people in the state of Utah.”

Root said hunters have naturally been drawn to the numbers of elk so close by. He also said because the animals are so low, the hunting is more visible to more people.

“It’s never fun to see an animal die and even hunters don’t like to kill animals,” said Root. “But that’s part of the process to be able to get meat if you’re a meat eater.”

Clyde said she’s not anti-hunting. She feels the situation this herd is in, and its proximity to people, should allow it refuge.

“I understand hunting,” Clyde said. “It’s important for population management. I understand hunters do contribute to the majority of conservation. It’s just this particular herd at this particular time where they’re in trouble. It just seemed a bit of a cheap shot almost, you know? They’re stressed out. It seemed a little unkind.”

The hunting period for cow elk in this area ended January 31st and Root said there won’t be any additional hunts there this winter.