(WKBN) – On Monday afternoon, Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Anthony Donofrio upheld a magistrate’s decision to deny a preliminary injunction that would have stopped the controlled hunting of deer within Mill Creek MetroParks. The hunt will continue for now.

Judge Donofrio’s ruling comes two months after a hearing in which people living around the park asked the hunt be halted. Magistrate Nicole Alexander ruled at the time that there was no evidence the public interest would be served. On Monday, the judge agreed, writing that there was no “error of law or fact.”

Concerning the judge’s decision, MetroParks Executive Director Aaron Young said, “We are pleased that the magistrate’s ruling was upheld.”

Marc Dann, who represents the people trying to stop the hunt, said, “This is round two of a 10-round fight. We have filed a motion for summary judgment and if [Judge Donofrio] denies it, we intend to take our argument to the 7th District Court of Appeals.”

Dann’s argument is that the MetroParks Board of Commissioners does not have the authority to make the deer hunting decision.