MILLARD, MO. -- Birds aren't the biggest wildlife problem at Kirksville Regional Airport: it's the deer.

There were so many, especially last fall, that the Missouri Department of Conservation gave airport personnel a permit to shoot the animals.

Engineers are currently designing an 11-foot-high fence to keep deer and other wildlife off the runway and airport property.

"We had a gentleman hit a deer on take-off a number of years ago, and he had to abort the take-off. (They're) weren't any injuries. Certainly, it did some damage to the airplane," said David Hall, airport director.

Hall told KTVO the new fence will be nearly three-and-a-half miles long.

The estimated price tag for the project is $360,000.

Ninety-five-percent of that will be paid for by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Missouri Department of Transportation.

The City will pay for the remaining $18,000.

Hall said he expects to start seeking bids around the beginning of March and hopes the fence will be finished by the end of the year.