When deer wear out their welcome

Valley Independent ^ | 7-2-02 | Bob Frye

[SJackson]

Charlie May entered the one-room schoolhouse, hung his coat on a peg and went to his seat, shaking off the chill. It was just before Christmas of 1931 and there were several inches of snow on the ground outside.

He had walked to school, of course. It was only a few miles from home and besides, he was all but a man. Fifteen years old and in eighth grade - his last year of school - he'd soon be leaving books behind to join the rest of the men in Gowan City, Schuylkill County, in working for the Reading Coal Co.

[concerned about politics]

We have the darn things walking through our front yard. They chew on everything.
In the winter, we have to protect our fruit trees. They tear them to shreds.
The garden has a huge fence, and the darn things jump it!
Needless to say, our freezer is often full of country beef!

[Redbob]

"With deer becoming more abundant and hunter numbers dropping, there's a real need for innovative solutions to control deer, he says."

Thinking outside the box?
OK, are you ready for this? How about encouraging youngsters to take up hunting?
Naw, that'll never work in today's schools...

[serinde]

This situation seems to happen every few years, esp. in the east. Environmentalists say "Oh, no, you mustn't hurt the poor, helpless deer. That would infringe on their rights." Then the "poor, helpless" things take over. Finally, some "nasty, evil" hunters have to come in and fix things, putting the environment back into balance. This has happened too often before, so I don't have much sympathy for those involved.

[Palmetto]

When deer wear out their welcome

[kidao35]

They just allude to the disappearance of small mammals in the area due to the deer stripping the underbrush. My wife and I were out driving the other day and we saw a rabbit. We simultaneously responded, "Wow, when was the last time you saw a rabbit?"

Next time one of the idiot animal rights clowns gets in your face inform them the whitetail are NOT native to the East Coast. They were specifically imported for hunting about 100 years ago.

[basil]

We have a huge deer population in the little town where I live. Last year, the town officials okayed the trapping of several hundred of them with large nets, and sent them to Mexico. Seems the Mexican government wanted to stock deer for the hunters who go down there and bring lots of tourist dollars with them.

It seems to me that the deer are making a big comeback, though. I have seen many does with twins following them, and have even seen one doe with quadruplets!

When putting in our landscape, we could only use what is known around here as "deer proof" plants--things the deer won't usually eat. It sure limits what can be planted. Also, the speed limit every where in town is between 15 and 30 MPH, as the deer don't look both ways before crossing the street.

[RonF]

Illinois has a big deer problem. Same story; before the '50's, you couldn't even hunt them. Now they're all over, in my back yard, etc. The browse line is obvious when driving down expressways that cut through forest preserves. But try to advocate hunting them. "You can't shoot Bambi!" Yes I can, and she tastes pretty good, too.

The anti-hunting crowd is always trying to come up with alternatives. Trap and re-locate? All that does is spread the problem around, and you can't trap enough of them. Stun and sterilize? Well, first, this costs a fortune per deer. Then they developed a contraceptive dart. You still can't keep up with all the deer. And some crowd I don't even want to try to characterize came out and actually said, "This is discrimination; why don't you sterilize the male deer, instead of just the female ones?" What, they think deer get married? Sterilize 19 out of 20 female deer, and 0 out of 20 male deer, and you'll have one faun in the spring. Sterilize 19 out of 20 male deer, and 0 out of 20 female deer, and you'll have 20 fauns in the spring.

In Cook County (which includes Chicago), there's been no deer shoots. Sometimes they have them in DuPage county; the deer are hunted by professional sharpshooters, and the meat is slaughtered for the homeless. But a county-by-county solution won't work. Seems the deer can't read road maps.

Talk about road hazards. But, it could be worse. I just came back from Canada. At least if you hit a deer, you will likely survive. Have you ever seen a moose? Those things get close to a ton. And we saw plenty next to the roads....

[RonF]

And then there's;

"Why don't you just let nature take it's course, eventually the deer population will balance out?"

Well, first, that'll happen only after they completely strip all the food out of the woods, ruining the ecology for the rest of the organisms. Then you'll have a bunch of starving and sick deer dropping dead. Should make for a nice walk in the woods.

But, if you want me to let nature take it's course, I'm willing. Of course, that'll require actually restoring nature in the woods. We'll bring in a few wolf packs, a few big cats, a bunch of coyotes, some vultures, etc. And black bears. Then the deer population will be controlled quite nicely, and nature's balance will be restored. Have a nice picnic....

[John O]

There is a state park in south central Indiana called Brown County State Park. About 5 years ago I took a drive through the park (maybe 3 miles total distance) at about 2:00 in the afternoon on a summer day and counted no fewer than 50 deer by the side of the road. They had no fear of man and they were obviously unhealthy. Turns out that the park was grossly overpopulated and the forest structure was taking a beating.

IIRC it took about two years to beat the hippies and watermelons back enough to allow a hunt. The watermelons wanted to try everything but hunting to solve the problem, of course nothing worked. So we had a couple hunts. People got to eat some good deer meat and the herd has been reduced to a manageable level.

On the other side there is a navy base in south central Indiana that has a large deer herd that is very healthy because they are hunted every year (they harvest about 1000 head a season).

Deer was made to be hunted. Hunting them is the only way to keep the species healthy.

God Save America (Please)

[lodwick]

bttt Perfect

[John O]

Have you ever seen a moose?

My sister was bitten by a moose once. (no really)

GSA(P)

[dakine]

As kids we had to qualify thru a DNR (Department Of Natural Resources) course to get a hunting license...We did the class work and shot a .22 at our local HIGH SCHOOL, and this was in suburban Detroit...

[Lizavetta]

Grass maggots.

[Willie Green]

Dr. Gary J. San Julian, a professor of wildlife resources at Penn State University, says the people who manage deer and the hunters who pursue them need to "start thinking outside the box" when it comes to controlling deer. With deer becoming more abundant and hunter numbers dropping, there's a real need for innovative solutions to control deer, he says.

Hmmmm.... deer numbers increasing.... hunter numbers decreasing.....

"Think outside the box...."

Thinking... thinking.... outside.... outside...

I GOT IT!!!

Lower the license fees for out-of-state-hunters, make more licenses available and extend the hunting season!!!

[texson66]

Heres how to restore "nature's balance":

[WVNan]

Yes, and a danger to my life and limb every time I drive to and from work. I have learned how to drive obstacle course. Brake and dodge, break and dodge. Makes me feel like I'm playing a game of Russian Roulette.

[DETAILER]

If regular hunting is not enough to keep them in control around there, why not organize shoots and donate the meat to orphans - or send it to the schools system or even prison system? Surely there is something that can be done if thye will just see some reality and do it. Increase the number of hunting "doe" days. Less females means less breeding. This problem can be fixed if they'll just do it.

[RonF]

"Watermelons"?