To get along with deer, we need to shoot a few
Today, with a restored population of 25 million to 40 million whitetails, foresters complain that high concentrations of deer are inhibiting the growth of new trees all over the landscape. The animals gobble up seedlings and other vegetation on the forest floor and browse as high as they can reach standing on their hind legs. In the process, they are threatening rare plants and the birds and animals that count on the forest understory for survival. In some areas, deer have become de facto forest managers, determining what eastern woodlands are going to look like 50 or 100 years from now.
Hunters, long shunned, are being welcomed into some communities to trim local deer herds. Sometimes local governments hire sharpshooters to protect woods, parks and neighborhoods; predictably, these moves have caused controversy. This fall, a California-based group called In Defense of Animals filed two lawsuits, alleging that two such plans are illegal. …
With all deference to their emotional well-being, one also thinks of the anxiety and distress suffered by the 4,000 drivers in the United States who hit a deer every day. Not to mention the 250 people who die every year in these crashes or the 30,000 who are hospitalized because of them.
Blowback
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You mean use guns?
davidk on December 15, 2012 at 7:18 PM
No, silly, strongly worded letters.
Left Coast Right Mind on December 15, 2012 at 7:24 PM
As I recall, Missouri’s whitetail history is pretty similar: Almost hunted to extinction; outlawed to kill; then came to thrive via wildgame management (hunting seasons).
The One Thing the Article Doesn’t Mention™ is that herds can become too large and disease-ridden (with things other than Lyme).
eforhan on December 15, 2012 at 7:27 PM
Chuck Grassley approves.
Mark1971 on December 15, 2012 at 7:32 PM
Actual conversation between me and a friend I hadn’t seen in a while:
Friend: “What’s been going on?”
Me: “I killed a deer for the first time in my life.”
Friend: “Did you kill it with a gun, or a bow, or…?”
Me: “I killed it with the company’s new van.”
I’ll never forget the look on his face.
backwoods conservative on December 15, 2012 at 7:32 PM
Darn near collided with a deer last night, driving back from the store. I’m a fan of culling the herds back a bit.
rbj on December 15, 2012 at 7:41 PM
You’re not the only ones with vermin problems.
OldEnglish on December 15, 2012 at 7:45 PM
Now it’s the war on deer.
petefrt on December 15, 2012 at 7:49 PM
Screw the rare understory plants. Deer are gentle, beautiful creatures, and they taste good too. They probably make far better forest managers than the enviro-whackos could ever hope to be.
The only real concern I have is for the farmers whose crops deer can severely damage. And favoring farmlands in the hunting regs alleviates that problem.
Deer reproduce like rabbits (which also taste good). A deer in captivity will live up to twenty years, but in the wild the average lifespan is 4-5 years. Hunters and cars take their toll.
petefrt on December 15, 2012 at 8:04 PM
I hear roos like to box. Ever boxed with a roo?
petefrt on December 15, 2012 at 8:08 PM
Agree that whitetails are way overpopulating some areas. My grandmother got a cull permit for her ranch so they can take out extra deer. They’re destroying the vegetation. When you can see browselline everywhere, they are out of control.
juliesa on December 15, 2012 at 8:13 PM
Wrong again! Only the government can hunt deer for us. You sit in the stand, when you see the deer, you call the gov’t, and they show up to shoot it for you. Hopefully it’s not gone when they show up but hey, it’s the Court has ruled that they have no legal obligation to bag your game.
WeekendAtBernankes on December 15, 2012 at 8:18 PM
Never, ever, get near enough to a full-grown male roo to find out! They can be worse than a bayonet to the gut!
OldEnglish on December 15, 2012 at 8:22 PM
Crackin’ me up.
Yep, so I understand. They pack a wicked punch. Usually a bad attitude problem too.
petefrt on December 15, 2012 at 8:31 PM
There are millions of mule deer around here. They graduated to total vermin class several years ago. The vehicle body shops are making a fortune. Still a big dent in the side of my truck where one big buck charged it and hit it amidships a couple of mating seasons ago.
Even the elk are heading for vermin status around here.
I’m no hunter and like looking at them… But have had serious thoughts of shooting a bunch just for the irritation factor when they cross the roads and make me slam on my brakes.
LegendHasIt on December 15, 2012 at 8:35 PM
The biggest part of the problem is that we have eliminated all the other predators.
novaculus on December 15, 2012 at 8:41 PM
I live in western PA, and in August I was at my brother’s house practicing shooting my gun. I had to pause for a deer crossing about 25 yards behind the target. A deer hit my car while it was stopped at a stoplight. It just bounced off and went on its way, after doing $2,000.00 damage to my car.
Night Owl on December 15, 2012 at 8:58 PM
Washington Post: News and views from 30+ years ago, today.
strictnein on December 15, 2012 at 8:58 PM
I’m in western PA (mountains) too. Deer all over the place. I love it. Dog doesn’t even bother with them any more, nor do these deer care whether this dog’s nearby or not. Occasionally when they’re getting piggish about some new plant in the garden, I’ll sneak out and fire some shots over their head. At first it worked well. But within a year, they seemed to have learned whether or not I was aiming at them, and when I shot into the air over their heads, they barely budged.
They learn to identify some people with danger, and others as “friends”. If they don’t feel you threaten them, they’ll act almost tame. Let a stranger come into your yard, and everything changes.
But whoaa, let hunting season start, and they disappear over night. It’s amazing how fast they sense the danger.
petefrt on December 15, 2012 at 9:22 PM
Heh, sounds like a moose. Deer hit stopped vehicles too? Must be the residual DDT, or global warming that’s causing it.
petefrt on December 15, 2012 at 9:32 PM
LOL! They sure do know when to disappear! I like them too.
Night Owl on December 15, 2012 at 9:43 PM
It was pretty big. It’s face was on my windshield right in front of me. Yeah, it was crossing the street and ran right into the side of my car. I don’t think that happens very often.
Night Owl on December 15, 2012 at 9:46 PM
Years ago on the winding dirt roads of
the western Maine mountains, I was impressed that moose would become stupefied by headlights, and damn near kill themselves once at last they decided to run away from the light. Usually they didn’t charge the car/truck, but often they went ass over teakettle into the woods in retreat. Usually soon after there was a crashing sound… a brush pile or something. It would be funny, except sometimes they probably broke legs in the process.
petefrt on December 15, 2012 at 10:13 PM
Deer are a hazard around here, too. My insurance agent told me they claims every week from people that hit them. Day before yesterday I had to drive through a whole herd of them right at sunset. They were grazing on either side of the road. I just went slow and tried not to spook them.
trigon on December 15, 2012 at 10:37 PM