County seeks to reduce deer population

[aTailOf2Kitties]

deer tend to overpopulate until they end up invading urban areas or outgrow their food supply. Then, instead of a small number of healthy deer, you got a whole bunch of underfed ones. Sterilized deer still eat ya know.

Kill them humanely (hence the sharpshooters, and not just a bunch of guys with hunting licenses), but at least donate the meat to a worthy cause.

BTW deer will, in fact, attack domestic animals and people if threatened. They're not all gentle and innocent like people want to believe. I saw a video clip of a doe seriously injuring a totally innocent dog once (and in a neighborhood, at that). They can really, really mess you up when they feel threatened.

[Karen]

Because we humans have eliminated the wolves that kept the deer population in check in most states, deer do overpopulate, ruining forests by stripping bark from trees after they have eaten all the lower growth, and they end up starving, more vulnerable to ticks which then spread to companion animals and humans, and eventually can been seen dead and dying at the side of highways, particularly in winter. It is an awful, awful, heart-wrenching sight. Especially in some Eastern States, like Pennsylvania, the deer overpopulation has ruined forest ecosystems for other creatures, too, causing other species to suffer.

A humane, quick death if far preferable to slow, painful death by starvation, don't you think? I will never forget the skeletal starving deer we saw when I was a kid, licking salt from the roads in western New York state, and the carcasses of the ones who had just died and fell, near the edges of the woods. Horrific.

[Twisterdog]

Because we humans have eliminated the wolves that kept the deer population in check in most states, deer do overpopulate, ruining forests by stripping bark from trees after they have eaten all the lower growth, and they end up starving, more vulnerable to ticks which then spread to companion animals and humans, and eventually can been seen dead and dying at the side of highways, particularly in winter. It is an awful, awful, heart-wrenching sight. Especially in some Eastern States, like Pennsylvania, the deer overpopulation has ruined forest ecosystems for other creatures, too, causing other species to suffer.

A humane, quick death if far preferable to slow, painful death by starvation, don't you think? I will never forget the skeletal starving deer we saw when I was a kid, licking salt from the roads in western New York state, and the carcasses of the ones who had just died and fell, near the edges of the woods. Horrific.

Agreed completely. Humans ruined the natural balanced ecosystem, and now there are FAR more deer than there ever were. They are a huge problem in the midwest, too.

[blue]

IL and/or Chicago deer arent tasty? Why havent they been hunted before now to keep their numbers down?

Deer=food. Where is the problem here.

[Bonny]

Not enough hunters around to hunt them anymore. The hunters that are hunting are going after trophy bucks for the racks. This year they can only shoot 10 point bucks & up as far a bucks go. There is bow, muzzle, & shot gun season besides. Our state is second in deer population with all the corn & bean fields for them to feast on. The coyotes kill a lot of the fawns in the spring around here but there are still a lot of deer.

[lizbud]

The yearly deer hunt has already started in Indiana. They close all of
the State Parks for a few days & start shooting. No markmanship test is
required, only a hunting licence. I wonder how many are just wounded and
left to bleed out somewhere in the brush?

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/25682723/detail.html

[aTailOf2Kitties]

I wonder how many are just wounded and
left to bleed out somewhere in the brush?

Do you mean totally abandoned? Or just not killed instantly?

As far as total abandonment..Why would someone sit in a tree in the freezing cold for hours and finally shoot a deer just to let it get away? Animals generally aren't attracted to loud banging noises, so one you've fired your gun, it's not like you've got anything else to do for a little while. Follow the blood trail find your deer and take it home.

Keep in mind the goal of every hunter is to kill an animal as quickly as possible. So yeah some do bleed out in the bushes, but hunters try to avoid having to go track down a wounded deer, and it's still less traumatic than being mauled by predators.

[Puckstop31]

The yearly deer hunt has already started in Indiana. They close all of
the State Parks for a few days & start shooting. No markmanship test is
required, only a hunting licence. I wonder how many are just wounded and
left to bleed out somewhere in the brush?

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/25682723/detail.html

There is a LOT more to a humane kill than simple marksmanship. Even an perfect "double lung" shot does not guarantee recovery. Its a sad aspect of hunting. ANY hunter who does not feel horrible for not finding an animal they shoot, is not a true hunter who does it out of respect for the wild.

FWIW, any broadside shot in the torso, using modern hunting rifle ammo, should result in a relativley humane kill.

I don't know about IN, but in PA... When they do these "cull" hunts, they require a marksmanship test. Also, FWIW, I personally would not participate in such a hunt. Yes, it is required to be done. This kind of control is better than starvation or CWD... But its not a "hunt". Big difference between a "cull" and hunting.

[Karen]

Not enough hunters around to hunt them anymore. The hunters that are hunting are going after trophy bucks for the racks. This year they can only shoot 10 point bucks & up as far a bucks go. There is bow, muzzle, & shot gun season besides. Our state is second in deer population with all the corn & bean fields for them to feast on. The coyotes kill a lot of the fawns in the spring around here but there are still a lot of deer.

That's why the best solution - were there not human beings with pets around - would be to reintroduce the grey wolves. A wolf, especially in a pack can take down an adult deer, a coyote just cannot, so they have limited effectiveness as population control.

[Bonny]

There is a problem with the wolves though. Wolves kill to eat, wolves kill to teach their young how to hunt, wolves kill for recreation. Out West outfitters are having to deal with the wolves brought into Yellowstone. Mainly the elk & mule deer population is suffering. The wolves chase the elk kill the young for all of the above. The cows slip their calves from being chased. There are to many packs & it is out of control. It is like farmers here dealing with coyotes killing calves. I have seen sickly deer over the last couple of years so maybe that will be the thing to thin them out?

[Bonny]

That's why the best solution - were there not human beings with pets around - would be to reintroduce the grey wolves. A wolf, especially in a pack can take down an adult deer, a coyote just cannot, so they have limited effectiveness as population control.

Yesterday in Rochester, Minnesota a trapper was trapping coyotes & trapped a gray wolf. The gray wolfs paw was caught in the trap but was not badly injured & the gray wolf was released. The DNR thinks the wolves came over from Wisconsin. I guess there are more of them in Southeastern Minnesota(really rough forested hilly lands) but no packs have formed as yet. So we have wolfs about 60 miles away from the land of corn, soybeans, & deer.

[Puckstop31]

The hunters that are hunting are going after trophy bucks for the racks. This year they can only shoot 10 point bucks & up as far a bucks go. There is bow, muzzle, & shot gun season besides. Our state is second in deer population with all the corn & bean fields for them to feast on. The coyotes kill a lot of the fawns in the spring around here but there are still a lot of deer.

What state are you in? Are you sure the "10 point only" rule is not something from a local preserve or club? Mature bucks in the midwest, generally speaking, tend to carry more antler than others.... But ONLY 10 points or more? I've seen 8 points that score much higher than some 10s....

[Bonny]

What state are you in? Are you sure the "10 point only" rule is not something from a local preserve or club? Mature bucks in the midwest, generally speaking, tend to carry more antler than others.... But ONLY 10 points or more? I've seen 8 points that score much higher than some 10s....

I heard it on a radio station in Southern Minnesota. The dogs & I have picked up the finer 8 point horns from yearling bucks & found more thicker horns of mature 8 point bucks in the early spring. It depends on the maturity of the buck. I guess in Minnesota there aren't many trophy bucks so they want them to lay off shooting the bucks so put a restriction on it for now. I don't know if it is the whole state or a county in Southeastern Minnesota? Trophy bucks bring in more hunters I guess that are interested in the racks more than anything. I know we have plenty of big mature doe in our area & there are signs of bucks on the trails during the rutt with the bark rubbed off of trees. I have seen mainly younger bucks in my area this past year. Last year a hunter got a trophy buck hunting in the back of our woods & he was from Minnesota. So it must be a big thing there. I am in Iowa the land of the corn, soybeans, & deer.

[moosmom]

Why can't they have a birth control injection, like they do with cats, that will curb the deer population.

It seems that we go through this every year with the same outcome. (Where's Sara Palin and her trusty shotgun when you need her?) I've said it before, I'll say it again...these animals were here LOOONG before we were. We need to respect that.

My Dad always taught me that nature is cruel. I never realized till now how right he was.