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When Cute Deer Go Bad
NY Times ^ | March 20, 2005 | MASTHEAD EDITORIAL

Posted on 03/19/2005 8:29:04 PM PST by neverdem

Forgive us if you are among the millions of gardeners, farmers, bird-watchers, drivers, fence builders, claims adjusters, body-shop operators, roadkill scrapers, 911 dispatchers, physical therapists and chiropractors who know this already.

White-tailed deer are a plague.

In their overwhelming abundance, they are prime examples of an ecosystem badly out of balance. They denude forests, making life impossible for vulnerable native plants and birds while allowing invasive species to thrive. While deer profoundly vex suburban gardeners, that annoyance pales next to the lethal danger they pose to drivers.

Now, even bird lovers want the deer subdued. The New Jersey Audubon Society, in a report last week, urged the consideration of lethal means to solve the problem, arguing that fencing, contraception and other gentle tactics have proved largely ineffective. The group wants the government to rethink conservation policies it says are intended to maximize herds for hunters, and to consider - especially in the suburbs, where hunting is too dangerous - bringing in sharpshooters.

It may sound harsh, even strange coming from an organization whose mission is to foster "environmental awareness and a conservation ethic." But the group - which does not speak for the National Audubon Society - has it exactly right.

Deer are simply heeding the biological imperative to go forth and multiply. With no natural predators, and the suburbs a year-round salad bar, they have slipped out of their ecological niche - and it's our fault, not theirs. The deer did not ask human beings to create the kind of predator-free suburban landscapes in which they now thrive. But the mountain lion, gray wolf and bobcat are not about to return, and the houses and highways are staying put. People, therefore, must own up to their place in a compromised food chain, and assume the responsibility for managing it well.

Unfortunately, deer contradict our innate assumption that only ugly creatures can be vermin. As the recent release of the "Bambi" DVD reminds us, they seem miscast as villains. But wise conservation means looking at the environment as a whole - from the smallest wildflower on forest floor to the biggest brown-eyed herbivore. The whole system - not just the prettiest mammals - needs protection.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: New Jersey
KEYWORDS: animals; audubon; deer; environment; hunting; pests; wildlife
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PETA will flip out. It's hard to believe this is from the Times.
1 posted on 03/19/2005 8:29:10 PM PST by neverdem
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To: neverdem

Rats with Antlers...


2 posted on 03/19/2005 8:30:03 PM PST by Clemenza (Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms: The Other Holy Trinity)
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To: neverdem


Get ready for some VENISON.


3 posted on 03/19/2005 8:32:33 PM PST by LauraleeBraswell ( CONSERVATIVE FIRST-Republican second.)
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To: Clemenza

Maybe they should be properly domesticated and turned into farm animals. The humans did know how to do it some 10000 years ago, but seem to have forgotten.


4 posted on 03/19/2005 8:33:32 PM PST by GSlob
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To: neverdem

They should be harvested for food. They aren't too cute to eat. I can almost taste the venison stew now. . .


5 posted on 03/19/2005 8:34:06 PM PST by Capriole (I don't have any problems that couldn't be solved by more chocolate or more ammunition)
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To: neverdem

There are 55,000 car-deer accidents in Wisconsin every year, many fatal. Protecting deer isn't environmentalism. It's murder.


6 posted on 03/19/2005 8:35:38 PM PST by July 4th (A vacant lot cancelled out my vote for Bush.)
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To: Clemenza; Coleus; jocon307

But New Jersey just refused to repeat last year's bear hunt, the first in decades.


7 posted on 03/19/2005 8:35:58 PM PST by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: neverdem

Just watch out for liver flukes, otherwise Bambi-burgers are yummy!


8 posted on 03/19/2005 8:37:13 PM PST by nightdriver
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To: Capriole

I keep shootin' them, but the limit seems to be impeding my ablitity to 'thin the herd'...LOL.


9 posted on 03/19/2005 8:37:36 PM PST by Ethrane ("semper consolar")
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To: Capriole

Deer bologna and venison pot pie!

Yummmmmmmm!


10 posted on 03/19/2005 8:37:56 PM PST by lightman (The Office of the Keys should be exercised as some ministry needs to be exorcised.)
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To: neverdem

Here in Washington State, we have Elk which, in terms of size, are between white tails and moose. Hit a male Elk and there is a good chance the both of you will be going to the great forest in the sky.


11 posted on 03/19/2005 8:39:01 PM PST by Clemenza (Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms: The Other Holy Trinity)
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To: neverdem
Unchecked deer leads to coyotes over-running the place. If people don't want deer hunts then they better get used to having no small pets. The coyotes think of them as snacks that are much easier to catch than deer.

Here in CT there are no "lost" cats only snacks that won't be coming home.

12 posted on 03/19/2005 8:39:11 PM PST by muir_redwoods (Free Sirhan Sirhan, after all, the bastard who killed Mary Jo Kopeckne is walking around free)
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To: neverdem
fencing, contraception and other gentle tactics have proved largely ineffective

You can lead a deer to a condom, but you can't make him use it.

13 posted on 03/19/2005 8:39:16 PM PST by KidGlock (W-1)
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To: neverdem

The solution is venison pot roast( cooked with Louisiani Hot Sauce, red wine, garlic and coriander seeds!


14 posted on 03/19/2005 8:40:47 PM PST by Domestic Church (AMDG.....)
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To: Capriole
"They should be harvested for food. They aren't too cute to eat. I can almost taste the venison stew now.. ."

But.....but..... think of poor Bambi's mother. (off sarcasm)

15 posted on 03/19/2005 8:41:30 PM PST by albee (A paranoid schizophrenic is somebody who just found out what is going on.)
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To: muir_redwoods

Shades of the morons who leave their dogs unattended when they go camping in the Everglades.


16 posted on 03/19/2005 8:42:03 PM PST by Clemenza (Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms: The Other Holy Trinity)
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To: Clemenza

Dear Clemenza,

"Rats with Antlers..."

I doubt that rats are as tasty.

(Though I hope to never make the comparison.)


sitetest


17 posted on 03/19/2005 8:42:43 PM PST by sitetest (If Roe is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
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To: Capriole

But that's BAMBI....


18 posted on 03/19/2005 8:43:53 PM PST by Experiment 6-2-6 (Meega, Nala Kweesta! It appears that SABERTOOTH got himself suspended. Again. ????)
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To: neverdem

"PETA will flip out. It's hard to believe this is from the Times."

Well notice that theTimes stops short of recommending hunting - an activity that is too testosterone intensive to pass its PC requirments.

Just a reminder to cool off your deer as quickly as possible and to SKIN it as quick as possible. The gaminess comes from the glands in the skin which transfers thru the fat and then into the meat.

Also don't forget to let the meat hang to age/tenderize/ and get rid of the "raw" taste.

Do this and you will fool the bambi lovers every time.


19 posted on 03/19/2005 8:45:18 PM PST by spanalot (Bring it On)
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To: neverdem

PETA - People Eating Tasty Animals


It's time to cull the herds.


20 posted on 03/19/2005 8:45:59 PM PST by Tuefel Hunden (Once a Marine, always a Marine)
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