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The Man Who Abjured His Native Victuals
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The Nation's Pulse
It’s a Jungle Out There
Our deer problem and yours — and the mountain lion’s.
BETHEL, Conn. — In the early hours of Saturday, June 11, 2011, a motorist driving an SUV along Route 15 in Milford, Connecticut, struck and killed a mountain lion. That’s right. A mountain lion. In Connecticut. This event occurred a little more than a week after a moose was sighted ambling through my little of town Bethel. If anyone wants to know where the wild things are, they’re in suburban and rural and even urban Connecticut.
Let me give you a few examples of what I’ve witnessed in my own backyard. One afternoon while on the phone with my Dad I saw a coyote sprint out of the woods and nail a fat groundhog that was waddling across the grass. Several times I’ve witnessed a hawk pounce on a chipmunk or a deer mouse. One night I was awoken by the awful screams of fawn being torn apart by a pack of coyotes.
I have my own personal herd of deer that live in the forested back acre of my property, a place they share with coyotes and red foxes. The deer have become so used to the sight and smell of humans that I can be working at one end of the yard while the herd continues to graze at the other end. Deer are lovely. Fawns are adorable. Did you know that typically does give birth to twin fawns? Until I moved here, me neither.
Yet deer have become a serious problem in Connecticut. According to the Wildlife Division of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, the population of white-tailed deer in Connecticut is “overabundant.” That’s an understatement. A single square mile can support 10 to 12 deer, yet throughout the state typically the numbers are much higher—60, 70, even 90 deer per square mile. Erring on the side of caution with 60 per square mile, that works out to 290,700 deer statewide. Such numbers are not only a problem for deer that are competing with each other for food, they present serious problems for the deer’s human neighbors.
Deer spread the tick-borne Lyme disease to humans: since 1996, 29,000 cases have been diagnosed in Connecticut. On average, deer require a daily diet of 5 to 10 pounds of forage, so they treat our gardens like open-air salad bars, which is extremely expensive for gardeners. The town of Fairfield estimates that on average deer do $17 million worth of damage every year to public and private plantings in the community. Yes, there are deer resistant plants, but if deer have decided to eat something, they will. A landscaper told me that he had planted 50 lily of the valley plants in a client’s garden. Lily of valley is said to be poisonous to deer, and so a safe plant. By the next morning deer had eaten them all. And the lawn was not littered with deer corpses.
In their quest for food the deer are clearing out native-born woodland plants and wildflowers, including such rare species as the lady’s slipper orchid. This groundcover is home to various species of birds and small mammals. Once their habitat is gone, they leave and the ecology of the woodlands begins to go out of whack.
The trouble is, the deer no longer have natural predators such as wolves or mountain lions to keep their population in check. According to Connecticut lore, in 1743, 25-year-old Israel Putnam killed the last wolf in Connecticut. There is no comparable story for the mountain lions, although that situation appears to be self-correcting. Nonetheless, at present the deer’s only enemy (aside from hunters) is a speeding automobile. On average, 18,000 deer are killed along Connecticut roadways annually. Repairs for a deer-and-car collision costs on average $1,600; there are no figures for the cost in medical expenses for injured drivers and passengers.
The primary reason for the boom in wildlife in Connecticut is the expansion of forests in the state. Today, 60 percent of the state is forest. Compare that with the state in 1900, when forests covered between 20 and 30 percent of Connecticut. The 20th century saw a trend of families moving off their farms. Once the fields and pastures were no longer being worked by man, Nature moved in. Later, part of this newly wooded land was cleared for housing, but enough of it remained to make an ideal habitat for deer. Cover in the woods; plenty to eat in the humans’ gardens; and no predators.
What to do? Giving deer birth control vaccines has been a failure. Trap and relocation programs can cost up to $3,000 per deer. Even if the state had the spare cash (which, Lord knows, we do not), all the other states are suffering the same deer problem, and they don’t want ours. Some towns have hired sharpshooters to reduce deer populations, which invariably brings howls of protest from the local Bambi/anthropomorphic coalition. It doesn’t matter that the deer population is out of control, or that the deer spread Lyme disease, or that the venison is donated to the local food pantry, for some Americans, cuteness will always triumph over reason. I’ve invited a friend’s son, an experienced bow hunter, to come to my house, open a dining room window, and pull up chair — he’ll be able to bag a herd without stepping outside the house.
So it comes down to this: given the lack of four legged predators in the state, we two-legged types will have to step in. I know it sounds harsh, but the problem is our responsibility — until we see a serious boost in Connecticut’s population of mountain lions.
Kevin in Appalachia| 6.14.11 @ 6:58AM
I did a research paper based on prior wildlife studies, on this subject back in college during the mid 70s. Everything the author wrote has been predicted. Professor said I was wrong. Hmmmm. Look people, deer are just giant rabbits. They will eat and breed until they run out of food and die of disease. If you really want to have a healthy smaller deer population...HARVEST them. Don't get me wrong, I think deer are beautiful animals. But, they are not smart. If they were, 18,000 would not die crossing the road in traffic. You do not want carnivores populating your living area. There is a reason our ancestors got rid of them. Carnivores... ahem, eat meat. If no one has told you...we are made of ...meat.
Dan Hirsch| 6.14.11 @ 10:17AM
Kevin;
You are in Appalachia - in California, several years ago a woman jogging was attacked and killed by a mountain lion, which was subsequently killed by local authorities. Who got the most public attention and sympathy? The predator did!
I say concealed carry is a good idea if we are not going to hunt these big rabbits down and eat them.
PS In six years we have hit two deer, one in suburban Chicago and one in the Northern woods of Wisconsin. In both cases, the first sighting of the damn deer was as it hit the front of our vehicle... We need a much longer hunting season, really. And don't forget those stupid, wintering over Canadian geese, too!
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 10:47AM
I remember when Canadian geese were a relative rarity. Now, they're more like rats with wings. A burgeoning coyote population is helping somewhat, but there are still too many.
I'm not sure that CC is the answer although I am in favor of it in general.
Longer hunting seasons-yes. However, a longer season won't solve the problem by itself unless the access issue is also solved.
Kevin in Appalachia| 6.14.11 @ 11:54AM
Amen. Hunting must be done. We've seen mountain lions here in West Virginia also, but the DNR denies it. The forests are what they once were, dangerous.
skip| 6.14.11 @ 1:11PM
Get rid of food stamps, and give out goose stamps instead. If an individual can't provide for himself and wants to eat, the individual can redeem the goose stamp for a harvested canada goose, which will have to butchered and prepared by the individual to be eaten. Welfare reform, social safety net, personal accountability training, and wildlife management all rolled up in one simple cost efficient solution.
Patrick| 6.14.11 @ 2:30PM
Actually, in the last few years, the only place where deer can be found in WI is the suburbs. The wolf population has exploded and the Doyle administration made a reckless bid for more license money.
Seek| 6.14.11 @ 11:21AM
The poster here is right, and I can vouch first-hand.
Several years ago I was driving on the D.C. Beltway late one night, when out of nowhere a deer ran across the highway at top speed in an attempt to cross it. I slammed on the brakes, but there wasn't enough time, and I accidentally struck it. I felt terrible but there was nothing I could do. If I'd gotten out of the car in the middle of the highway, I could have been the next statistic.
Deer are beautiful, but not terribly smart. They freak out easily and often will run right toward your car, as if on a suicide mission. They're not meant for the suburbs. Call "harvesting" a polite term for hunting, but at this point there may be no other option.
KyMouse| 6.14.11 @ 1:02PM
My answer to this problem would be a book entitled "To Serve Deer." All together now -- "It's a COOKBOOK!!!!"
Mares eat oats.
Does eat oats, and everything else, too.
Occam's Tool| 6.14.11 @ 2:05PM
Shoot the damn deer if they bug ya. Get a freezer, eat venison, save money on meat.
Next case. (By the way, I have a small herd of deer that frequently run through my small acreage).
KyMouse| 6.14.11 @ 4:04PM
The author says, "...he'll be able to bag a herd without stepping outside the house." I'll bet you know, OT, that Dan'l Boone's missus, Rebecca, is said to have shot the family's next dinner from the porch of their cabin on more than one occasion. She musta been a heck of a gal.
The author's mention that venison can be donated to food pantrys reminds me of the days when I helped serve meals at Wayside Christian Mission here in Louisville. Hunters occasionally brought in their "harvests" to share with the folks.
"Wow, what a treat for them to have venison!" I said. "Well," the cook told me, "we tell people it's beef, because they don't want to try anything unfamiliar."
Still, the "beef" feeds a lot of people at such times. (My church has such events for its hunters at least once a year.)
I've mentioned before in TAS that I once interviewed a wildlife rescuer who had several deer in her care; she was not against hunting. "Deer don't die in their beds," she said. "If a hunter or other predator doesn't get them, they eventually get bot flies [?] in their ears and walk in circles until they starve."
SDN| 6.17.11 @ 7:24AM
My late Arkansas grandfather was shooting deer with his 12 gauge from the front room of his house at age 83 in the 80's. Arkansas has / had unlimited deer harvesting if they are destroying "crops" which included my grandfather's garden. The fact he planted it in front of the house just made it convenient. 8-)
Mike Hawk| 6.14.11 @ 7:02AM
Bambi has become a pest. Here in PA the deer herd is estimated to be larger than it was in colonial times. Why, you say. Extensive crops, wooded areas for cover, gardens, forage from suburban shrubs, flower beds etc etc but also lack of predators. Relocating them doesn't work for two reasons. Other populations are high and deer are territorial. Relocated critters generally die. I have seen more roadkill the last few years than I can count. Venison is a prized meat in many areas. Why not license commercial hunters who can profit from it?? Deer are a traffic , disease, and population hazard.
PaulyD| 6.14.11 @ 8:56AM
Yes, the deer population is much larger today than "back when." As the author points out, reforestation is part of the reason but only indirectly. Ideal deer country is a mix of forest (for cover from predators) and field (for forage). Too much forest (like in Vermont) and the deer don't have brush for forage. Too little forest (back when the first settlers cleared the land) and the deer don't have forest for cover. So as Eastern farms were abandoned and reverted to forest, the fields that were left to mix into them created a perfect habitat for a deer populaton explosion.
Hunting would obviously be the solution but it really isn't safe to be blasting away at deer in the quasi-rural suburbs that have now become de facto wildlife refuges. Somebody will have to think up a better solution. I haven't got one.
PJ| 6.14.11 @ 1:20PM
Bow hunting might be the answer.
Patrick| 6.14.11 @ 2:32PM
You beat me to it.
Stormzeye| 6.14.11 @ 5:01PM
You can hunt deer in populated areas with "deer slugs".
"In many populated areas, hunters are restricted to shotguns even for medium to large game, such as deer, due to concerns about the range of modern rifle bullets. In these locations, a slug will provide more range than a load of buckshot." - Wikipedia "Deer Slugs"
Tom in Michigan| 6.14.11 @ 6:05PM
Not necessarily. Most populated areas, like suburbs have restrictions on discharging ANY firearm. A deer slug has an effective (that is, "killing") range of up to about 75 yards so, you don't want to shoot one off near populated areas.
You are confusing areas like southern lower Michigan where rifles are restricted below about the midline of the Lower Peninsula with being able to discharge a slug gun in say, suburban Detroit.
Also, no offense but why in the world does anybody use Wikipedia (the encyclopedia that "can be edited by anybody") as a source of information? It is so full of bad data as to be a national joke.
Much better to check with your state Department of Natural Resources for this type of information to avoid potentially causing harm to yourself and others.
PaulyD| 6.14.11 @ 9:35PM
Yes, you've stated the problem precisely. Most suburban communities have ordinances that prohibit discharge of a firearm within a certain distance of a building. If I remember right, you can't fire a gun within 100 yds of any building, in my town.
Which is why the deer wander through my yard with impunity...
Patrick| 6.14.11 @ 7:14AM
Hunting is a great way to increase tourism dollars while decreasing the herd. Of course, you have to give Lyme Disease to enough of the whining liberals so that they shut up about "killing Bambi".
Ralph Diamond| 6.14.11 @ 7:26AM
In Europe wild game is sold in stores. Why not lobby to open America to the wild game market? Watching PETA wiener all over the place would make a nice diversion from Weiner’s opened gate!
Here’s my contribution to the Bambi population explosion.
Best Venison Burgers Ever!
1 pound ground venison
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons steak sauce
2 tablespoons hot pepper jelly
Combine venison, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce and hot pepper jelly. Form into 4 equal patties - about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.
Heat a lightly oiled grill to medium heat. Grill burgers 3 to 4 minutes, flip and cook 4 minutes more for medium rare. Let burgers rest for 5 minutes.
Pepper jellies very in their heat level. Sample before use and adjust the amount added to taste. I mix my venison a few hours before cooking to let the flavors develop.
Ted| 6.14.11 @ 8:01AM
Interesting recipe.... What type Worcestireshire sauce, steak sauce, and pepper jelly do you use?
Ralph Diamond| 6.14.11 @ 3:45PM
I like the pepper jelly from Plow & Hearth. I’ve tried a jelly made with jalapenos but I thought the heat overpowered the other flavours. I use A1 steak sauce most the time and without looking in the frig I couldn’t tell you the brand of Worcestireshire sauce I use. As for adding fat because venison is lean I suggest trying this first without adding any. This makes a surprisingly juicy burger.
During the Depression my grandmother fed her kids a lot of pigeons. I wish I had thought to ask her how she cooked them. With Obama building hand baskets to hell the pigeons that feed at my birdfeeders are lookin’ better every day.
Stormzeye| 6.14.11 @ 5:04PM
One of the best dishes I've ever had was venison chilli.
SDN| 6.17.11 @ 7:28AM
Amen. In Alabama and TX, hunters must take the deer to a processor. While you can't sell venison, anyone can pay the processing fee and take the deer home. I use ground venison in just about any dish that calls for ground beef, including Hamburger Helper. Tastes great and less fat.
George True| 6.14.11 @ 8:08AM
Sounds good, Ralph. But in my experience, you really need to mix in some beef fat as well. Venison by itself is just too lean, and thus not flavorful enough to make good burgers.
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 11:29AM
I think I would suggest pork (ideally in the form of bacon) to add fat. I also like to use one egg per pound to help hold things together. The pepper jelly sounds wonderful! I'd never have thought of that.
timmah| 6.14.11 @ 4:02PM
Mmmm, bacon....
Groad| 6.14.11 @ 8:22AM
Venison makes for great chili.
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 11:29AM
It also makes for great brats and stir fry.
JimH| 6.14.11 @ 8:44AM
One of the best meals I've ever had was a sauerbraten made with venison. The meat is strong enough to stand up to the marinade, unlike commercial beef.
Occam's Tool| 6.14.11 @ 2:12PM
Concur with Ted's question. This recipe made this thread all by itself. Thanks!
Robbins Mitchell| 6.14.11 @ 7:29AM
"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes,boys!"
~Gen. Israel Putnam~
Ken (Old Texican)| 6.14.11 @ 7:52AM
Thomas,
the main thing that boosted deer populations here in east (forested) Texas was the hugely successful screw-worm eradication program.
one scratch from a thorn would infect and kill a deer in the old days.
Nevermind!
If Obama gets re-elected, we surbuban types might need the meat.
donserge| 6.14.11 @ 7:58AM
"..the deer have no natural predators such as wolves or mountain lions....." You forgot to mention that in CT and much of New England hunters were taken off the list of natural predators through excessive hunting regulations, land postings and propoganda in the government schools, movies and TV.
How stupid to pay for relocation programs and so-called sharpshooters when hunters will buy licenses to 'remove' the deer.
PJ| 6.14.11 @ 1:22PM
The deer problem has been minimized in NH. Hunting regulations are few over there.
LindaF | 6.14.11 @ 8:08AM
Hunters are absolutely the answer. Not surprisingly, in my edging-on-rural lot in SC, we don't have the deer problem - we have LOTS of hunters, and no yearly limits. It's a fair solution - our bad aim vs. their fleetness - and I assure you that the meat gets "et".
s bennett| 6.14.11 @ 8:15AM
Deer are a real terror to us motorcyclists.Even worse than cell phone users in cars.
Old Soldier| 6.14.11 @ 8:18AM
Same situation here in NJ. I've hit two deer on rural roads.
Frekki| 6.14.11 @ 9:47AM
I hit a deer a year. We live on a farm and the deer are everywhere and we hunt. With our apple trees just outside I can drink my morning coffee and shoot deer. I don't 'cause the wife doesn't like it.
There will always be people who think the world is a soft santa claus bambi place or could be made one. They're called liberals, and I try not to listen to them while eating my wife's venison chili.
Patrick| 6.14.11 @ 2:37PM
Using a bow (or crossbow if it's legal in your state) is a whole lot quieter. You can clean and prep the deer before your second cup.
Old Soldier| 6.14.11 @ 8:18AM
Same situation here in NJ. I've hit two deer on rural roads.
Old Soldier| 6.14.11 @ 8:19AM
Hmmm... didn't mean to do that.
Occam's Tool| 6.14.11 @ 2:07PM
Being a twitchy Jew, I've managed to stop in time for my deer, usually, although one ran into the side of my deadhead (joke) van once.
Anthony| 6.14.11 @ 8:28AM
The Connecticut DEP has consistantly maintained its position that mountain lions do not exist in CT.
Albeit,proof has been hard to come by, but those of us rural residents have insisted they existed for years. I saw one in 1999.
The DEP simply does not want to deal with the problem, so it insists it doesn't exist. A classic bureaucratic response.
No matter, if the Connecticut economy continues to track the national economy, with the Ds in full control, with their anti-business and taxaholic mentality, CT will soon be 100% forest again, and the mountain lions will roam freely, with no DEP to insist otherwise.
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 11:35AM
I always thought the East Coast term was catamount.
Maybe that's why the DEP says they don't exist.
/sarc off. I think you're probably right in that they don't want to deal with it.
We've had a similar problem here in the People's Republic of Illinois.
Rich D| 6.14.11 @ 11:37AM
No problem. Just shoot and eat them. You can't be prosecuted for killing something that doesn't exist.
Anthony| 6.14.11 @ 8:29AM
The Connecticut DEP has consistantly maintained its position that mountain lions do not exist in CT.
Albeit,proof has been hard to come by, but those of us rural residents have insisted they existed for years. I saw one in 1999.
The DEP simply does not want to deal with the problem, so it insists it doesn't exist. A classic bureaucratic response.
No matter, if the Connecticut economy continues to track the national economy, with the Ds in full control, with their anti-business and taxaholic mentality, CT will soon be 100% forest again, and the mountain lions will roam freely, with no DEP to insist otherwise.
Louis Jenkins| 6.14.11 @ 8:33AM
Deer are a problem no doubt. Every other morning I see another one killed by a car. Hunting deer may be the only answer. So lets increase the "take" limit and expand the hunting season. Otherwise, more autos vs deer collisions will occur, not to mention gardens being consumed by the "useless eaters." But I'd also agree, if Obama gets relected that may be one of our meat sources.
Redstateboy| 6.14.11 @ 8:47AM
As a Refugee from the People's Republic of New York now living in the Promised Land (Tennessee) for 12 years.. I am struck by how many Deer I saw in NY vs. what I see here in TN. NY (Buffalo and Western NY) have a Deer infestation.. I've come to no firm conclusion as to why I don't see as many Deer here in TN. as I did in NY.
Mister Z| 6.14.11 @ 8:48AM
Hunting is the answer to the problem, it's a win-win-win situation. Here in Texas, hunting deer is its own industry, providing recreation, jobs, and deer control. Hunting has worked well in the past, too. Seems like I read some time ago that white tailed deer were so severely hunted in past times that by 1940, their nationwide population had declined to less than 100,000.
NYJoan| 6.14.11 @ 8:51AM
I live in a NY county that abuts Ct and I know I saw that mt lion this past winter. I too reported it to the NY DEC and they told me the same thing. Mt Lions don't exists in NY. So all the numerous sitings seen were mirages!! The reason they say that is that they don't want to track the possible families of lions because that cost money. Money the State of NY and Ct doesn't have. Hopefully the lions proliferate and populate and they can take care of the overy populated deer communities. Ah, ain't nature grand?
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 9:41AM
The mountains lions are just as likely to come into your back yard and eat your garbage out of your garbage cans, and while they're at it, take out your kitty or dog, or maybe your four-year-old as she plays in the yard.
Brian Mc| 6.14.11 @ 8:54AM
The path of least resistance. Deer take it just as much as we do. Hence, we have a dilemma. Until we get our kids away from their computer toys and out in the timber the deer 'problem' will escalate. The numbers of hunting licenses sold is dwindling as more and more children would rather sit on the fat little arses. Here in Iowa, we have the fattest deer in the world and fat kids who can barely role across the living room floor. So, the states raise the cost of said deer tags to offset the decline to maintain the revenue. This increased cost, the price of ammo, legal firearms requiring the involvement of the FBI and ATF, archery equipment and the lack of public areas that aren't overrun by miscreants and poachers; this will continue to compel the deer numbers to head towards unmaintainable herd levels with their microcosm of disasters waiting to happen.
Hunting is bad. To prove it; increased licensing fees, mandatory hunter safety courses that intimidate the novice, "No Trespassing" signs that deter those with nowhere to practice the art without begging...and an education system that needs to keep the world safe for Bambi and the children, is there any other outcome expected?
Hunters are partly to blaim; instead of attempting to look less like Hawkeye and more like Cousin Eddie would be a start. Schools used to hold hunting classes but are now more apt to create the false impression that it's more important to release baby seals back to the wild than dress it properly for Sunday dinner.
Brian Mc| 6.14.11 @ 9:39AM
Correction: "Hunters are parly to blame..."
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 9:39AM
Another answer, a bit too real for some, is to return to the old way of finding animals that are pests, killing them, and finding their young and killing them too. It's that conduct that teaches wild animals to treat humans as something other than a food source. We stopped doing that several human generations ago; the wild animals as a result are losing their fear of humans. With deer, that's less of a problem than with, say, mountain lions.
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 11:44AM
While license fees are certainly a concern-especially for non-residents, I believe it's the lack of access that is the primary problem. If you can't find a place to hunt on a regular basis, you're not going to go through the whole rigamarole of getting a license, getting out there and practicing-whether with gun or bow.
As you point out, hunters are partly to blame. Hunter image is a problem we hammered on again and again when I was a Hunter Ed instructor. Hunters (and anglers, too, for that matter) are some of the best friends conservation has. However, that is not always how the public sees us. This is thanks in part to how we are portrayed by the animal rights idiots and the M(for metrosexual)SM. However, we are also sometimes our own worst enemies. We need to address that.
Occam's Tool| 6.14.11 @ 2:09PM
Wow--a hunter Ed instructor! (No snark) I will have to ask you some questions sometime, Irish.
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 7:17PM
Any time, OT. It's been a while. I am thinking of renewing my certification, though.
Hillel| 6.14.11 @ 8:57AM
The DEP said Coyotes didn't exist in Connecticut until even they had to acknowledge them.. As for deer: If you're a good hunter you can get 6 a year Private land Bow and Arrow,Public land Bow and arrow. Private land Muzzle loader, Public Land Muzzle loader.Private Land Rifle,Public land rifle.
Car and truck road killing is always legal PETA people are like our Puritan ancestors. They opposed Hunting not out of concern for the animal but because they feared it might give pleasure to the Hunter.
Old Soldier| 6.14.11 @ 9:04AM
Can somebody also shoot all the Canadian Geese that stopped commuting to Canada. I'm tired of stepping on their poop in every park.
Matthew Quigley| 6.14.11 @ 9:05AM
The best population control devices for deer I've ever seen are a .30-30 Winchester and an extended season. A doe tag is also a good birth control device.
Wes in MT| 6.14.11 @ 9:13AM
In western MT, the deer are everywhere. It seems that they are becoming less afraid of humans with each passing day. It is not uncommon to see them in the middle of Missoula during the day. Large rabbits is an apt description. Lately I have been seeing elk around my house. In our neck of the woods, I wonder how much of it has to do with the federal wolf reintroduction program and the pressure that the predator has placed on the eld. Just one more of the unintended conscequences of ill-thought, feel good plans of environmentalists that have shaped goverment policy.
Mary Jo| 6.14.11 @ 9:16AM
When I lived in a NJ suburban town not far from NYC for 30 yrs, I had a herd of deer, rattle snakes, pheasants, coyotes, fred foxes, chukas, red headed woodpecker,woodchucks, racoons, skunks and a black bear that roamed my back wooded acre.
I assumed they came down from the Ramapo Mountains because of the new home building taking place.
The only thing they bothered was my vegetable garden.
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 11:46AM
I think I used to know a Fred Fox. Wonder if it's the same one you saw. Sorry, couldn't resist.
oldfart| 6.14.11 @ 9:24AM
My wife was on the way to work the other day and came upon a deer badly injured on the side of the road. Whoever hit the deer just drove on. The deer was unable to move because of a broken left rear leg and was bleeding from the anus. I went out to put the animal down but called Animal control first. Bad move - "We can't allow you to do that!!! We must send the State Police" HUH? Another guy stopped with a .243 and was going to do the same thing. I told him what Animal Control people said. It seems that since all of the 'city folk' have moved to more rural areas if they hear a firearm discharge they want to call out a swat team. Go figure. A nice lady who runs an animal rescue operation stopped and agreed with me - that the animal was so badly injured it should be put down quickly. She also was aware that all the 'touchy feelies' made it difficult to 'do the right thing' for the animal when necessary. In due time the Trooper showed up and put the animal down with a 12ga slug. The Trooper then was required to call in a report a firearm discharge so there would the swat team would not be dispatched. The Trooper also had to wait until there were no passing cars so some passing yahoo would not be upset. Gee, I wonder if all these 'touchy feelies' are vegetarians or just ignore the source of the hamburgers and hotdogs they consume. LOL
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 9:34AM
I can just picture that .243 bullet going through the deer's head and ricocheting off the roadway, flying any which way, maybe fragmenting and hitting more than one bystander. A hit in the eye would kill somebody. Better to wait for the police; the 12-gauge was a much better idea.
oldfart| 6.14.11 @ 9:38AM
Bill - just because we get our water out of a well and not tainted with God knows what chemicals does not mean we are that stupid. We know the safe use of firearms.
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 9:47AM
So what was the plan, to manhandle the suffering deer, broken leg(s), bleeding from the anus, off the pavement onto the grass, and hope there weren't any rocks under where you were going to shoot the deer?
Frekki| 6.14.11 @ 9:55AM
I would take out my .38 S&W Agent and shoot the animal in the head, like I always do. Fear of guns, fear of nature, fear of life follows city people to the country. We put up with it.
Have I told you about how we farmers have to shoot our extra cats every fall?
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 11:16AM
Having spent several summer on my uncle's farm, I'm well aware of the use of firearms with regard to vermin and livestock.
Also, as a member of my high school rifle team and a firearms enthusiast, target shooter and hunter all of my life, I think I can claim some familiarity and liking of firearms.
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 11:18AM
On the farm where I worked, my uncle didn't waste bullets on stray cats and kittens; he just caught and caged them, put a tarp over the cage and the exhaust pipe on his pickup, and turned it on for a while.
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 11:19AM
One of my jobs was to throw the bodies on the manure pile out back of the barn.
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 11:22AM
I learned on my uncle's farm that a .22 long rifle bullet often won't kill a woodchuck unless you hit them in the head.
PaulyD| 6.14.11 @ 12:45PM
Really? There go my varmint hunting plans. Guess I'll have to switch to a Barrett .50.
:-))
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 2:47PM
Do they still sell .22 Hornet rounds? Those are an improvement.
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 11:48AM
Cat-the other white meat.
Renaissance Nerd | 6.14.11 @ 10:44PM
Cat tastes a lot like rabbit. When I was in Chile 20 years ago a butcher got hauled off to jail for selling cat legs as rabbit legs. The lady who ran the boarding house I lived in bought some just a week before. I would never have known if she hadn't tearfully confessed.
Redstateboy| 6.14.11 @ 10:59AM
And Hussein - Das Messiah - keeps blathering on and on and on.. about how He's going to cut through the gobbs of burearcracies to make our Nation run more efficiently..... right.
Ampleforth| 6.14.11 @ 4:56PM
I was traveling through West Virginia one night and came upon a small traffic tie-up where someone had hit a deer. A state trooper was on the scene. She was about 5'5", and I noticed her going from car-to-car. She came back to my car and asked if I would be interested in having the deer meat. I told her I was traveling and would have no way to store it. She talked to folks in another couple of cars and then walked back to where the injured animal lay at the side of the road. She unholstered her pistol and withough flinching shot the deer twice in the head. She holstered her pistol and a couple of men started moving the carcass.
Two years ago I shot a rabid raccoon in my front yard with a .22 rifle. It upset one of my neighbors, and she scolded me for not calling animal control. I told her that animal control would've taken two hours two get to us and by that time the coon would've been up in the woods and still a threat to our children. I said, "Besides, it didn't cost the taxpayers one thin dime."
When I came in my wife said, "Nice going Atticus."
NightingaleJen| 6.14.11 @ 8:20PM
oldfart, what happened is not your fault, but what a horrible story! I was driving through a rural area of Pennsylvania t0day, and having seen several dead deer on the side of the road, wondered what I'd do if I hit one or saw one injured. Not wanting to see an animal suffer (including giant rabbits that destroy my veggie and ornamental gardens), I figured I'd either call the police and/or simply put the poor creature out of its misery with my .38.
What an outrageously sad story. That poor creature had to suffer until the cop showed up...
And so far as Bill, believe me, I know how to use my firearm as well. Even for a dame. Yeeesh.
KyMouse| 6.15.11 @ 7:59PM
My veterinarian carries euthanasia solution and syringes in her SUV, as I imagine other vets do, and quietly administers it to pre-road-kill animals fairly often. She says she drives around after severe storms, looking for critters that need the same relief after tree limbs have fallen, etc.
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 9:30AM
Two centuries ago, the interior of New England was so wild that what are now the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, inland from the ocean, were unoccupied by the Indians (the land was used as a hunting ground and was otherwise a howling wilderness); it was the white Europeans who settled the interior of New England. They were discouraged; see the story of the Deerfield Massacre of 1704 or thereabouts.
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 9:31AM
So, with the two-centuries-old trend toward city living since about 1800, it's not too surprising that wild animals would begin gravitating to land that they lived in up to rather recently.
Rich Rostrom| 6.16.11 @ 1:37AM
ITYM _three_centuries ago. Two centuries ago was 1811, fairly close to the peak of settlement of New England. It was about that time that New Englanders began to migrate in large numbers to much better land in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Ontario.
oldfart| 6.14.11 @ 9:35AM
For the past 20 years there have been sightings of Mountain Lions in and around Shenandoah National Park. Many by people who are from the Wester states and have seen these animals in wild. Because a Government official has not seen the animal in this park - the Mountain Lion DO NOT EXIST. You have to have a Govt ID before it is real. LOL
Ampleforth| 6.14.11 @ 5:06PM
We kind of have the same nutty thing in Kentucky. Years ago, I spotted a mountain lion in a wildlife management area near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. I told a game warden from Ky. Dept. for Fish and Wildlife, and he acted like I was crazy, implying that I had seen someone's pet dog (I was a little insulted). A few years after that I started finding their tracks and scat during hikes in Mammoth Cave National Park. KDFW adamantly denied that there were any mountain lions in Kentucky. Why?
A few weeks ago a couple driving their Jeep around the perimeter of their farm near where I live confronted a mountain lion, which we call panthers, along a fence line. Again, KDFW implied that this couple didn't know what they were seeing.
I guess it will take someone getting killed by a panther before they'll finally admit it. I always wonder why they deny it? Is it really because none of their skillful fieldworkers or brilliant bureaucrats haven't seen one?
calvin | 6.14.11 @ 9:48AM
In south Michigan deer are more prevalent than people in some townships. The coyotes have more than enough to eat. In recent years the vulture population is increasing, because the auto deer kill goes on year round. In our county, the road crews do not even attempt to clean up the carnage. My family has hit five so far with our vehicles.
Hunting is the answer, but hunting is so regulated and restricted that there is not enough time in the season to harvest enough deer. The state makes a lot of income from licenses. The hunters are more interested in trophies (big racks to hang on the wall) than they are the venison. They collude to make the season so short that one has to be lucky to harvest a deer during the few days available in the fall. So the auto owners pay a ton for insurance (and occasionally get killed) and the property owners can't plant an orchard or garden without putting up a ten foot high fence.
The answer lies in extending the season and loosening the restrictions (and banning kids from ever seeing any Disney movie, starting with "Bambi.")
Old Soldier | 6.14.11 @ 3:12PM
In Northwest NJ, Turkey Vultures are everywhere and generally perform the clean-up of road-kill deer (if a bear doesn't get there first).
Petronius| 6.14.11 @ 9:56AM
Our high end municipalities are getting choked with deer, geese, and the worst species of all; suburbanites who believe all animals are pets. Property gets destroyed, vehicles wrecked, and insurance premiums get hiked to the stratosphere, but the sentimental weenies call the cops if they see their neighbor with a bow in hand. Game species can be managed in populated areas if and when we first cull the idiots. A friend has a great feud going with his next door neighbor and the anti-hunting muni council. When deer are in season, the state permits property owners to take them without tags. He sits on his back deck overlooking almost eight acres and when bambi saunters by it meets up with a 44 mag hollow point. The prissy neighbor keeps suing in hopes of running him off and even tried to provoke assault. He sends her deer sausage for Christmas.
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 11:51AM
"He sends her deer sausage for Christmas."
LOL!
uncle curmudgeon| 6.14.11 @ 11:54AM
Lyme Disease is named for the town of Lyme, CT, a very pretty part of the world. The trouble started when the Liberals found out and moved there from such God-forsaken Liberal hell-holes as Yale and Manhattan. They Yuppie-fied the joint up, instituted more land-use laws than you can you can shake a free-range stick at, and told the goobers that they'd have to stop that "frightening" hunting stuff. Once the laws of nature had been repealed Lyme became a decent enough place for the weenies to strike their poses. Deer over-population? Deadly disease vectors? Afraid that's not in the NYT Book Review today, Old Boy.
Occam's Tool| 6.14.11 @ 2:11PM
Ah, Lawyers. Liberal, big city lawyers.
Barf.
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 2:59PM
Well, the Lee-Lyme-Lenox area has been an upper-class (excuse me very much) watering hole for quite a while, so the problem with the urbanites coming up there isn't a new one.
I come from just west of there, the Albany area across the Berkshires. Ah, the Berkshires, one of the reasons I think about returning back East for a visit one of these days.
Bill| 6.14.11 @ 3:04PM
Oops, sorry, duh. I thought Lyme was in or near the Berkshires. I think I thought it was part of that upper-crust symphony festival in Western Massachusetts. Sorry for the error.
PJ| 6.14.11 @ 3:14PM
Don't worry about it. They're all 1 in the same! Lyme is part of CT's upper-crust, pseudo "Gold Coast." (Fairfield County has claims to the Gold Coast title.)
Marie| 6.14.11 @ 12:24PM
Mr Craughwell, Not being an animal wacko and do not own one but truly care and respect their place in our lives. I feel that society has gone crazy in development(for financial gain).Developers do not take into consideration that they will be displacing the local wild animals. In Washington State a lumber company cleared a huge mountain side of timber, sold the land to developers who replaced the animal habitat with homes. The Elk herd that fed there have now gone to the valley below to graze in fields along side cows and beef cattle much to the distress of the locals. What is wrong with this picture. I say men create their own problems through greed and thoughtlessness.
Old Soldier| 6.14.11 @ 3:19PM
That's not how it works in the East. I hike in state and federal forests - and almost never see deer there. Most of the foliage in a mature forest is up too high. Until nuts start dropping, there isn’t a whole lot for deer to eat.
Farms, lawns, shrubs, right-of-ways, etc… give the deer much more to eat. That is why there are far more deer here now than there were when the Pilgrims landed.
Tom in Michigan| 6.14.11 @ 5:52PM
Bob, The reason you don't see deer is because they've eaten all the forage. THAT's why it's so high in the forests near you.
Deer are browsers, not grazers so; they eat all the leaves and other forage up to the height they can reach. I'll bet you also don't see many birds either, especially old-growth species or species like redstarts and warblers that inhabit the lower forest stories.
The forest deer have eaten themselves out of house and home, destroying other - especially bird - habitat so; they've moved into the suburbs to eat what man plants.
The answer is more deer hunters.
Bill Sundling| 6.14.11 @ 3:51PM
Who cares if animals are displaced? People are much more important than animals. People have the right to do what they want with their property.
David| 6.15.11 @ 4:56PM
I WONDERED when the "it's-my-land-I'll-do-what-I-want-with-it" card was going to be played. So it's okay when one "neighbor" decided to put up a pre-fab home in an area of very expensive stick-built homes, thus lowering the value of my property? So it's okay when a realtor assured a prospective buyer of another adjacent lot that it'd be totally okay to locate a car repair and body repair facility on the land? Fortunately, the lie was discovered and the deal nixed early on. So, Bill Sundling, even if you decided to build a Palin-esque fence around all of your land, you still live in a community and every landowner has to be aware of, and respect, their neighbors. I believe that's a traditional American value.
SDN| 6.17.11 @ 7:36AM
Apples and oranges; people are not animals.
PJ| 6.14.11 @ 1:42PM
The wild animal population, esp deer, raccoon, skunk, & opossum, in places like CT has to be controlled. Rabies has not been eradicated. We will probably see a rate increase in rabid pets (You have no idea how many pet owners there are who are too damn lazy & cheap to spend $20 to inoculate their animals against rabies.) as well as rabid wildlife in the near future.
big bob| 6.14.11 @ 1:49PM
We live in the Poconos in NE PA. We have the same exact situation as you describe. Right now, I have been battling a grey fox who frequents my back yard virtually every night around 10:30 to 11:00. We have a friend who, in breaking up an attack by a fox on her dog, got rabies!! The shots prevented full onset, but this fox is not afraid of anyone. We have at least one herd, maybe two, of deer, and we have had almost 5-6 fawns born each spring in our backyard. Wild turkey, red shoulder hawks, woodchucks, cottonmouth snakes, (in the stream!!) and an occasional coyote. Several encounters with black bear, including a 500 lb+ male who tracked every step I'd made while fertilizing the yard. Yes, it's a forest, (Delaware State Forest), and we knew what we were getting into. Yeah the deer are a pain. But you have to have a tag to shoot them, and we don't get tags. So, at least for now, we have the freedom to leave when it gets to be overwhelming. In the final analysis, it's the most beautiful location we have ever had and we love it...animals and all.
Tom in Michigan| 6.14.11 @ 5:48PM
Dear Bob, It's highly unlikely the snakes you're seeing are actually Cottonmouth / Water Moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus). They don't range as far north as the Poconos so, please don't hurt them. They're probably just common water snakes, which can be agressive but are totally harmless otherwise.
You do have timber rattlesnakes and copperheads in PA, though. Both species are docile, if left alone and don't present much of a hazard.
I'm a hunter so, I'm no Bambi-wimp but please, don't hurt the snakes. They are often misunderstood but do infinitely more good than harm.
Thanks, Tom
big Bob| 6.14.11 @ 11:26PM
Wow I don't think I mentioned hurting any of the animals!! The only day we saw the snake it was sunning itself in the middle of our stream. Black, long and unaggitated. We did not bother it. But I am NOT sure it was a cottonmouth. I took many pictures of it but never got confirmation. I know about rattlers and copperheads...havent seen any. Only simple eastern gartners that guard my woodpiles!!
Tom in Michigan| 6.15.11 @ 10:30AM
Sorry. Didn't mean to imply you personally would harm the snakes. However, the all-t00-common impulse of most people is to do exactly that - usually killing harmless species. For example, I was in central Oregon lately, in an area litterly overrun with rattlesnakes. I came across a harmless gopher snake somebody had obviously killed, likely mistaking it for a rattler. I was trout fishing and saw a rattler about once every hour - that's how thick they were but just avoided them by pretty much staying in the stream. Anyway, no offense - just trying to make people aware.
Tom in Michigan| 6.15.11 @ 10:31AM
Man, I can't type. That is "literally."
Bill Sundling| 6.14.11 @ 3:50PM
Excess deer should be shot so people aren't killed hitting them with their cars and motorcycles. It's too bad liberals run amok in states like Connecticut and you can't use common sense rules.
Petronius| 6.14.11 @ 9:55PM
A bounty on both would fix the problem.
David| 6.15.11 @ 4:58PM
Hunh? How is it that liberals are the source of the problem?
This liberal loves to deer hunt and enjoys venison.
Howard Beale| 6.14.11 @ 5:07PM
Vension taste great. 100% organic food and low fat.. Buy yourself a bow, a good knife, freezer, and a meat grinder and start enjoying God's bounty.
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 7:23PM
Recurves and fingers forever, baby!
Tom in Michigan| 6.14.11 @ 5:41PM
Much of the problem is a lack of hunters. When I was growing up in Indiana, everybody I knew hunted. I personally did not hunt deer because there was no reason. So many of my friends killed them - including farmers who were allowed to kill them as crop pests - that I had all the great-tasting, lean and healthy venison I ever wanted. I concentrated my hunting on upland birds like pheasant, partridge and quail. The latter were significantly wiped out by terrible winters in 1978-79 but, they're beginning to rebound over much of their northernmost range.
Today, according to the Wall Street Journal - only about 5% of the US population still hunts. This, like so many other cultural problems from which we suffer as a nation is due to the pussification of America by the left who have convinced the majority of Americans that "hunting is bad." As a result, we are literally overrun with deer which destroy habitat for other creatures at an amazing rate. This is particularly devastating for song bird species, especially those who nest low.
This also explains why predators - previously extirpated from much of their former ranges - are back on the rise. In two days in Michigan, I saw both a bobcat and, for the very first time - a mountain lion (I have a zoology degree and know animals when I see them so, don't doubt me on this).
I live in a Detroit suburb but, I have a herd of deer, foxes and now, coyotes - these latter are DANGEROUS! and present a real hazard to pets and even children - in my yard on a regular basis. Last year the deer ate our entire garden, even our japapenos.
Time to reverse yet another leftist-caused problem and learn to hunt folks. I'm still just hunting upland birds but am seriously considering taking up hunting predators again.
Oh, yeah. I also spotted a wild boar in southern Michigan last spring so; we got that going on too.
It's only a matter of time until animal-people interactions become a problem again, just like they were for our ancestors. The biggest part of the problem though will be, we're now woefully ignorant of what animals are capable.
NightingaleJen| 6.14.11 @ 8:23PM
Boar is delicious. My uncle hunts just about everything that moves (we're all Michiganders, though I'm an economic refugee from the state), and served us boar for Christmas one year. Heavenly.
(But dangerous critters, to be sure.)
big Bob| 6.14.11 @ 11:27PM
I grew up in Livonia when it was being settled. Plenty of deer etc. Westland has its share. Haven't been there in years.
David| 6.15.11 @ 5:11PM
I don't doubt your sighting of a mountain lion and I don't doubt you have a zoology degree as witnessed by your correct use of the term "extirpated."
What I do doubt is that the drop in hunting is solely due to the "pussification of America by the Left." My father, a staunch Republican for over 70 years, gave up hunting because 1.) he was too busy working 2.) he had no convenient access to land. I took up hunting almost despite his example.
Factors affecting wild animal populations involve many complex, interlocking factors and it's critically important to acknowledge all of them and avoid the generalizations of "beer bottle biologists."
I completely agree that the cultural pendulum has swung against hunting (and meat eating in general) but I am loathe to reflexively blame the Left for that. There's lots to blame the Left, don't get me wrong. I'd just prefer to blame the Left when it's appropriate.
What I also doubt is that the boom in deer, including here in Wisconsin, is solely due to the drop in hunting. I suggest that you also consider the influence of a string of very mild winters resulting in huge fawn crops, changes in farming practices, and increased small holdings - such as the 'burbs.
Tom in Michigan| 6.14.11 @ 5:57PM
That is, "jalapenos." Sorry.
irish19| 6.14.11 @ 7:25PM
Watch out for that boar. Wild or feral pigs are becoming a HUGE problem. Many states now offer bounties.
Gretchen| 6.14.11 @ 8:21PM
Lilly of the Vally isn't poisonous only for deer; it's DEADLY poison, period. Even the water from a vase of these beautiful flowers is deadly.
H0w do I know? I read a lot of mysteries, and the water from a vase of Lilly of the Valley was the murder weapon in one. By the way, Hydrangia is also deadly; that lovely blue color comes from cyanide.
Many other flowers, however, are edible -- and delicious!
NightingaleJen| 6.14.11 @ 8:35PM
I currently live in the northern panhandle of West Virginia, a town that's a suburb of Pittsburgh. We, too, are dealing with the same things Mr. Craughwell mentions, sans mountain lions, for now.
The deer in our neighborhood are ridiculous; one regularly fawned in our backyard until we got a collie. They eat everything; our second year in the neighborhood, I was ready to sit in our guestroom with my bow and wait for the stupid antlered rats to come after my roses again. Now we just send Ben (the 90-pound collie) after the deer (save the bucks in rutting season).
Of course the car-deer collisions are epic here. Our neighbor's son was nearly killed when he hit a deer with his truck last autumn (he spent a few days in the hospital after the doe leapt in front of him on 22). We also have raccoons, woodchucks, skunks, and, beginning two winters ago, coyotes. In a suburb. A well-populated, nice suburb. Granted, we're right above the Ohio, but...coyotes? A small group of coyotes not only took down a nice-sized doe up the street, just a few hundred feet from the street, but have taken/eaten several small dogs who were out on their leashes as well.
Of course, the same folks who lost their pocket pups to Wile E. would probably be horrified at the idea of allowing hunters to take out Bambi and Company, AKA Coyote Bait, whether with guns or bow and arrow.
My father and uncles hunt. Even my grandfather still heads out on occasion (the other is an angler). A big reason for hunting is to keep the populations of destructive animals down, thus lessening the draw for predators like wolves, coyotes and big cats. I'm a glamour girl. If I can figure this out, why can't these oh-so-wise "environmentalists"?
Of course, having that delicious meat in the freezer doesn't hurt, either. Venison backstrap is pure heaven on shish-ke-bob...
irish19| 6.15.11 @ 12:30AM
Try it sliced about 1" thick and wrapped with bacon then onto the grill. When the bacon is crisp, the venison is medium rare. Another little slice of heaven.
Renaissance Nerd | 6.14.11 @ 11:00PM
It's amazing how some people simply will not learn from example. In AZ there's a lottery for who gets deer and elk tags each year, and the populations of both are managed quite well. It was learned here by sad mistake; after Pres. Teddy Roosevelt admired the herds of deer and antelope around the Grand Canyon the forest service went hog-wild and killed every cougar, coyote and wolf they could find. Within a couple of years the population of deer and antelope grew so large they started starving to death. Thus the wildlife management of AZ had its start. I'm not much of a hunter myself, though I'm a gun enthusiast, and I've only once put in for a deer tag, which I didn't win. A few years ago I hunted coyote, but we never saw any until we were on the way home. A big coyote sat right beside the highway with his tongue hanging out, taunting us. Since you can't shoot a firearm within a mile of the highway, he knew he was safe. First time in my life I was seriously tempted to break a firearm safety rule (oh, and the law).
weddingdresses | 6.15.11 @ 4:27AM
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jColes| 6.16.11 @ 7:33PM
The deer problem is nationwide and it's largely due to the Bambi Syndrome. We in Southeastern Alabama are deep in the grip of a massive and protracted drought. Our normally lush forest under-growth is now dead, dry and without nutritinal value to forest herbivores...
In the past year I've had a well drilled and two ponds put in because the surface streams have dried up...My neighbors and I buy hay & sweet feed and have planted/fertilized/watered many deer food plots...and still the deer herd is pitifully thin due to chronic undernourishment; although I think our efforts are sparing the deer the horrible deaths that follow starvation.
As a land owner I can declare any deer a nuisance animal and take it by any means I choose -- I choose the .338 Federal caliber solution -- hyper-effective and instant...Each week I cull at least one older Buck and one older Doe from my lands or adjoining properties, and thus encourage genetic diversity and stronger blood lines. Most of my neighbors focus on keeping the predator populations in line so that when the drought ends the drought-weakened herds won't be overwhelmed by Coyotes & feral dog packs...My neighbors and I pay to have the deer meat processed, frozen & packaged...We each keep enough so that our game freezers stay full and the rest we donate to area food banks and seniors feeding centers...the problem is that all of the land owners here are doing the same thing and the food banks are overflowing with good venison...so much that they're sending their excess venison to urban feeding centers & food banks.
But even with the culling, there are at least 200 deer on my 70 acres of forest land and similar numbers on adjoining properties...about 150-percent more than the land can support even in good times.
One of my adult daughters won't even come here to visit because we keep guns in the house and we kill game to eat...she is typical of many urban dwellers. The last time she visited she saw two deer eating my corn and exclaimed, 'Oh, aren't they beautiful'!?
The only solution I can see to the over-abundance of deer across the nation is extended hunting seasons with game bag limits established by good science...we'll just have to ignore the howls of the anti-hunting, pro-Bambi crowd.
Urban dwellers need to be shown that there is no better steward of the land and animals upon it than the land owner and his hunting partners, and maybe our deer and other forest game animals can live better, healthier lives while humans add to their available food sources & supplies..
jColes| 6.16.11 @ 7:45PM
...just saw the comments on wild boar...add feral pigs to the list, too.
Both are dangerous animals, neither has any fear of humans...the thrill of hunting boar & feral pigs is that if you're in their turf they're hunting you...wily, fast, strong, superbly equipped to survive in the wild...Pigs of some kind ate my neighbor's goat herd last month...28 goats in two weeks.
The land owners group along my highway is buying enough pig trap components now to build 20 traps...wild or feral pigs eating Hickory nuts, grain, goats, whatever it is they eat around here -- which is just about anything -- make mighty good eating...I have the meat from three smallish pigs in one of my freezers...but the health department won't allow food banks or seniors feeding centers to accept wild pork, so I don't know what we'll do with the pigs we trap & kill.
Adult toys | 7.4.11 @ 12:52AM
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drew bitsko| 9.17.11 @ 1:30AM
I think our efforts are sparing the deer the horrible deaths that follow starvation.
As a land owner I can declare any deer a nuisance animal and take it by any means I choose -- I choose the .338 Federal caliber solution -- hyper-effective and instant...Each week I cull at least one older Buck and one older Doe from my lands or adjoining properties, and thus encourage genetic diversity and stronger blood lines. Most of my neighbors focus on keeping the predator populations in line so that when the drought ends the drought-weakened herds won't be overwhelmed by Coyotes & feral dog packs...mole removal at home