Posted on 05/02/2008 1:01:13 PM PDT by neverdem
McClatchy Newspapers
State legislators are stepping into the arena of reproductive law again in a bid to regulate the use of birth control - on deer.
The House passed a bill Wednesday that makes it illegal to use fertility control agents or chemical substances on deer and other wildlife without a permit from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. Violators could face a fine of up to $2,500 and two years in prison. The bill must pass the Senate and be signed by governor to become law.
Permits would be eligible for scientific research or for wildlife management as approved by the department, the bill states.
Charles Ruth, a department wildlife biologist who supervises deer and turkey projects statewide, said the bill is intended to reinforce a practice already in place but not codified in law. It would also keep wildlife contraceptives from being used "willy-nilly."
Contraceptives that target mammals like deer are particularly worrisome.
"People are mammals. There are possibilities of nontarget effects," Ruth said. "What we're trying to [ensure] is in the event some of these substances are put on the market that they are used appropriately and by responsible and trained individuals."
Deer contraceptives are in use with the blessing of the Department of Natural Resources on Fripp Island as part of a five-year study.
Donations from Fripp Island property owners partially pay for the $170,000 study, which serves as an alternative to the professional culling several gated communities in southern Beaufort County use to thin deer populations, also a process that requires permits from the Department of Natural Resources.
Other than Fripp Island, the only permit the department issued for deer contraceptives went to Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island, though the nonlethal effort to reduce deer population in the community fizzled with a failed lawsuit. A community management company wanted to kill about 200 deer in the late-1990s, which a community group objected to and contested in court.
The department issued about 14 permits for deer culling in the past decade, Ruth said, almost all to gated communities in southern Beaufort County. In those instances, deer were baited to carefully selected open spaces, where a sharpshooter waited.
Allen Rutberg, an assistant professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University who is involved in the Fripp Island study, has been following the bill. He said it is reasonable, though he took issue with an amendment the House committee added Tuesday.
"Preference must be given to hunting as the primary method of controlling wildlife before a fertility control agent or a chemical substance is utilized," the amendment states.
"I think that localities should be able to choose whatever means is most appropriate for them, rather than state law pushing them to do whatever may not be suitable," Rutberg said.
For example, Fripp Island's limited open space and somewhat dense housing would not be appropriate for hunting with firearms for safety reasons, he said. Bow hunting would be too cumbersome to significantly reduce the deer population and, in his opinion, inhumane.
In his study, female deer on Fripp Island are tranquilized with blow darts powered by compressed gas, then tagged and injected with chemical contraceptives.
The Fripp Island study primarily is funded by the Humane Society of the United States. Rutberg estimated the deer population at 400 when the study began in 2004. Recent counts aren't available, but the deer population has fallen to a level homeowners are generally more comfortable with, said Kate Hines, general manager of the Fripp Island Property Owners Association.
© 2008 MyrtleBeachOnline.com
Birth control pills for deer come in all calibers.
Jeez, shoot the damn deer and give the meat to the needy. Freakin’ bureaucrats.
...but condoms are still OK?
I’m sure there’s some law against feeding game to the “needy”.
Besides, they probably wouldn’t eat it.
As one person said, she got tired of driving her 10yr old car to the food bank to donate and watching people in 1 yr old cars picking up.
“As one person said, she got tired of driving her 10yr old car to the food bank to donate and watching people in 1 yr old cars picking up.”
LOL! That would get at me as well.
I would think you could give meat to anyone you chose. I’ve been given game many times. I’ve never killed a deer and I eat it pretty much every winter.
Jeez, shoot the damn deer and give the meat to the needy. Freakin’ bureaucrats.
Idiots. People can’t afford food in certain areas of the country. Libs: People hungry = deer birth control and more food stamps. Conservatives: People hungry = kill a damn deer and feed your family.
While it may be true that you are sure ... it is untrue that there is a law against feeding the needy with game. Hunters for the Hungry and Hunter Helping the Hungry are but two of the organizations that accept and distribute hundreds of thousands of pounds of game meat every year. Hunters feed a bunch of folks other than their families.
That’s good.
I just erred on the side of “if it makes sense, some lib will pass a law against it”.
Amen. Why spend huge amounts of money to control wildlife populations when hunters will pay for the privilege to hunt.
"Bow hunting would be too cumbersome to significantly reduce the deer population and, in his opinion, inhumane."
While bow hunting would not be the most efficient method to decrease population, it is not in any way inhumane unless you have a really bad bowhunter that wounds and does not recover the game. A razor sharp broadhead, properly placed, is extremely effective and not inhumane in the least.
What’s wrong with shooting them? There’s talk of food shortages and we have a food supply that is producing wonderfully... and the bureaucrats want to poison it with birth controlling chemicals?
What is wrong with venison?
The poor don’t want to eat anything unless it comes from Popeye’s, Burger King or Mickey D’s. Venison is nice and lean so it lacks the larda$$ potential of fast food and the intoxicant of malt liquor.
Here in CA, if you have nuisance deer, you can get depredation tags from Fish and game, any deer taken must be turned in, and they end up going to shelters, kitchens for the poor and whatnot.
illegal to use fertility control agents or chemical substances on deer
...but condoms are still OK?
Ok, I want to see someone install said condom on a deer.
I nominate the dickhead who pushed this legislation thru.
It would also keep wildlife contraceptives from being used “willy-nilly.”
that line just cracks me up! LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.