If deer and bear had their numbers kept in check in forested areas where they originally were found before invading developments, we wouldn;t have this problem.
The canard that we are driving out of their habitat by building is only partially correct.
In the past their numbers were FAR smaller than now. They were well controlled by deer hunts. But as they moved into parklands the animal rights wackos blocked every effort by fish and game people to stage controlled hunts to limit their numbers. From their they moved into developments and other areas where successful hunting is difficult or impossible.
In New Jersey, the resident bear population was limited to a small area near the Delware Water Gap and kept there by controlled state hunts until the Bambi-ites in New Jersey stopped the hunt a few decades ago.
Since then the black bear population has exploded created increasing dangerous encounters between bears, people, livestock, pets and cars. I believe even now, the Corzine Administration in New Jersey is “cooking the books” on bear-human encounters.
AS for the deer pests, eating shrubbery is the LEAST of the problems they generate. Fatal or serious vehicle collisions, as well as a public health problem from deer ticks infested with Lyme disease and other contagions are even more threatening.
“Fatal or serious vehicle collisions, as well as a public health problem from deer ticks infested with Lyme disease and other contagions are even more threatening.”
...Absolutely....in our area the average cost of a deer-auto collision was $2000...to try and manage the deer population, the county held an archery hunt in the river Park....I went down to the check station and talked to the biologist in charge...he was pulling ticks off the dead deer and sending them in to the state university for analysis...ticks were pulled off the left ear only....one doe had 14...it made your skin crawl to see it....when our neighbor got Lyme, he went to 4 different doctors before the last one finally properly diagnosed him....he suffers from chronic pain in his joints.