VIENNA TWP., Ohio - A controversial hunting preserve that opened two years ago on the site of a former Vienna Township golf course will soon be no more.

21 News has obtained a copy of an agreement between two former business partners who created the Candywood Whitetail Ranch which offered hunters a fenced-in area where they could pay to hunt game such as elk, deer, and wild boar.

Under the agreement between Dale Soinski and Michael Mullenax, the animals remaining on the property will be removed by the first of the year under the supervision of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

According to the agreement, animals that cannot be removed will be “harvested”.

In addition, the fence surrounding the 275-acre property on Scoville North Road will be taken down.

Lawsuits and countersuits filed against each other have been dismissed by Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Peter Kontos.

Even before it opened the private hunting preserve became the target of protests from animal activists and neighbors concerned about guns being fired near their homes.

Soinski, who would take over the property and the liquor license that goes with it may still face some challenges.

Vienna Township Trustees point out that the property has now reverted to its original zoning classification which would prohibit the operation of a banquet center unless Soinski obtains a variance. Many of the trustees said it's good news.

"There have been protests and the community has not supported that business so we are actually happy to see that it is closing. I think it will bring closure to everything. I think it's a good thing," said Trustee Heidi Brown.