Riflemen could soon be sent to kill hundreds of White-tailed deer that have made a park in the US capital their home.

Rangers in Washington DC's Rock Creek Park say the animals are over-running the land and destroying it, so they are planning to start curbing the deer population with a combination of sterilization and bullets.

But opponents of the plan say there are more compassionate ways to address the problem.

Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman reports from Washington.