NEW YORK NEWS: City Officials Launch "Deer Are Not Bambi" Campaign

The number of deer on Staten Island has gone from near zero in 2008 to 1500 today, just 4 years later.

As well as causing traffic accidents, they're wreaking havoc to residents' back yards and gardens. And they've prompted a community board to suggest the "Deer are not Bambi" campaign to dissuade people from feeding them. "The deer population has been growing like crazy on Staten Island," said Frank Morano, chair of CB3 which discussed the problem at a recent meeting. "People look at them as how cute they are and start feeding them, and the worst we can do is feed them. Let them live on their own."

Source: DNAinfo

MINNESOTA NEWS: Hunting Areas Becoming "Overbuilt" on Public Lands

The presence of tree stands for deer hunting on public lands is not a new phenomenon.  However, the size and extent of these tree stands is growing out of control.

First, let's look at a trend in tree stands:

It’s not just a couple of boards slapped into a tree, but tree houses with stairways, decks, shingled roofs, commercial windows, insulation, propane heaters, carpeting, lounge chairs, tables and “even some with generators so they have electricity,” Krepps said.

One deer “stand” discovered on county land was a cabin 18 feet wide and 20 feet long. And, increasingly, some hunters are buying elaborate manufactured stands and leaving them in the woods all year.

When a stand is abandoned, much of it is left to rot in the forest. But plastic, metal, shingles and other materials aren’t biodegradable “and really leave a mess in the woods,” said Jason Meyer, who manages forests in the southern half of St. Louis County.

It crosses the line on what is appropriate for public lands.  These stands often have locks on the door. 

Next, let's look at the evolution of shooting lanes.  This used to entail cutting some branches or the occasional sapling to provide an unobstructed (and thus safer) area for shooting.  And now?

Some of those shooting lanes are more than 30 feet wide and up to 700 feet long. In one area of county land near state land, it’s estimated that a group of hunters had cleared more than six acres of forest combined for their 47 shooting lanes. “They are taking public land out of timber production and it’s adding up across the county,” Kailanen said. “The real impact of this may not be realized until 40 or 50 or 60 years from now, when those trees would have been harvested.”

Without all of that tree cover, what is to be done? Why not plant food plots to entice the deer to be closer to the tree stand?

In some areas, hunters have taken to clearing the forestland and planting clover and other farm crops to attract deer. While the ethics of food plots is hotly debated in the hunting community — some say it’s akin to baiting deer, which is illegal in Minnesota — county foresters say the plots are taking even more forestland out of production. Moreover, the seeds planted may not be just one crop, but may bring in invasive, non-native species that could damage the native forest and spread.

This all adds up to a pseudo-privatization of wildlife.  It involves constructing buildings and landscaping on lands people do not privately own to manipulate deer that are not "theirs" for the sole purpose of increasing their chances of having a successful hunt.  This is contentious enough within the community of deer hunters.  It amounts to another self-inflicted black eye in society at large.

Source: Duluth Tribune

WISCONSIN NEWS: Deer Feeding Ban in NW Counties

The Wisconsin DNR banned the baiting and feeding of deer in Barron, Burnett, Polk and Washburn counties because of the recent discovery of chronic wasting disease in the area. The ban goes into effect May 10, 2012. The Wisconsin DNR explains their rationale:

“Baiting and feeding of deer unnecessarily increases the risk of spreading CWD and other diseases,” Hauge said. “Animal health is important to preserving our great hunting tradition and is a foundation of tourism and vital to local businesses.” Baiting and feeding increase risks of spreading communicable diseases, like CWD, by concentrating deer in one spot. Deer using one spot are more at risk for spreading a disease.

Source: Star Tribune

MICHIGAN NEWS: Baiting Rules Changing

Michigan wildlife policymakers tentatively agreed Thursday to remove a ban on baiting and feeding whitetail deer in most of the Lower Peninsula that was designed to prevent outbreaks of deadly diseases.

The state Natural Resources Commission scheduled a final vote for June 9 on its plan, which would allow hunters to spread up to 2 gallons of feed at each hunting site in the
Lower Peninsula except for a section of northeastern Michigan where bovine tuberculosis remains a problem. The existing 2-gallon limit in the Upper Peninsula would continue.
The plan also would allow people to feed deer for recreational viewing everywhere except the bovine TB zone.

Deer baiting has been banned in the lower peninsula since 2008.

Source: Times Union

TEXAS NEWS: Feeding Ban Lifted at Hollywood Park

In response to drought, a feeding ban has been lifted at Hollywood Park.

Hollywood Park has overturned an 8-year-old ban on feeding deer within the suburb, dismaying state wildlife officials and reigniting a long-running battle on how residents can best manage the city’s deer population.

Proponents said the move to rescind the ban was justified, saying the deer population is thinning because of the recent drought.

The feeding ban has been successful in reducing deer numbers. Reversing the feeding ban will make it more difficult for the park to manage deer populations in the long term. The city is still conducting deer relocations and looking for ranchers to take deer.

Kevin Schwausch, a big-game specialist for the state, agreed that the number of deer in Hollywood Park had decreased but said it was a result of the city’s efforts in managing its deer population.

“Just because your management is starting to work, it doesn’t mean you should stop,” Schwausch said.

Source: MySanAntonio.com

COLORADO NEWS: Rabid Deer Fed by Residents

In a recent notification from the Office of Emergency Management via the Code Red System, residents of Elbert County were alerted that a mule deer, which had been acting aggressively within the Town of Elizabeth had tested positive for rabies. Certainly not good news, but worse was to come when the animal was necropsied by the Colorado State University Lab it became clear that the deer had likely been fed by local residents as its stomach contained sliced apples, rolled corn and bird seed.

The notification went on to say that rabies has now been found in all areas of Elbert County and that residents should ensure their animals are vaccinated against the rabies virus. In addition, the Colorado Division of Wildlife regulations do not permit feeding wild animals and encourages residents to secure their feed for pets and livestock.

Elbert County is now considered to be an area endemic for the rabies virus in wild animals.

Source: The Examiner

MICHIGAN NEWS: Judge Overturns Deer Feeding Ban

An Otsego County judge overturned Michigan's ban on baiting or feeding deer and elk in the Lower Peninsula.

The decision came after state wildlife officials charged a rural Gaylord man with illegally feeding deer from his multiple bird feeders. Ken Borton fought the charge and this week 87th District Court Judge Patricia Morse threw out the case against him and struck down the ban.

Borton said he didn't expect the law to be voided altogether.

"That's not what I was going after. All I wanted was to feed my birds. I'm shocked," Borton said.

The case began when some viewers of Borton's Web site, www.snowmancam.com, reported to the state Department of Natural Resources and Environment that deer ate around the bird feeders where he trained his digital video camera. State officials twice cited Borton for violating the feeding and baiting ban, enacted two years ago after a penned deer in Kent County tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

Officials told Borton to scoop up empty seed casings daily from around his bird feeders to be in compliance with the law.

Morse instead voided the law as "unconstitutionally vague."

"The statute as drafted gives no guidance as to where and how to exclude wild animals from foraging near bird feeders. It leaves too much room for selective enforcement. It allows fact finders to rely on subjective criteria to determine criminal liability," Morse wrote in her ruling.

Dean Molnar, DNRE law enforcement assistant chief, declined to comment on Morse's ruling, as did spokeswoman Mary Dettloff.

"We have no comment at this time. We're reviewing the opinion," said Dettloff.

She did discuss reasons for the ban.

"The ban was put in place in the Lower Peninsula because of the discovery of chronic wasting disease in Kent County in 2008. We followed the state emergency response plan for chronic wasting disease, which was approved by the Natural Resources Commission and the state Commission of Agriculture," Dettloff said.

Ryan Ratajczak, president of the Northwest Michigan chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association, said his group supported the baiting and feeding ban. He's curious about the impact of Morse's ruling.

"I'm wondering how that works now. I think it was justified at the time. They had the plan in place," Ratajczak said. "I think the biggest issue is making sure we've contained CWD."

Ratajczak said he didn't object to allowing hunters to bait, but he'd prefer the decision be made by state wildlife biologists and not lawyers and judges.

Others hailed the court's decision.

"How can we justify spending time investigating a man feeding birds and prosecuting him?" said Zack Cox, owner of the Natural Farm Products store on M-66, south of Kalkaska.

Cox has long sold carrots, corn and sugar beets used by farmers for their livestock or by hunters to bait deer. He always questioned the state's baiting ban and said he's "very pleased" Morse threw it out.

"There's no logic to it. What's the difference between a deer eating at an apple tree or at a small pile of corn feed?" Cox said.

Source: Traverse City Record Eagle

IOWA NEWS: Deer Feeding Illegal in Clive

Residents intentionally setting out food for deer would have 24 hours to remove it or face fines.

Officials hope a proposed law against deer feeding will lower Clive's deer population to recommended levels.

The Clive City Council voted 5-0 on Jan. 7 to approve the first reading of an ordinance that would create fines for residents caught leaving food out for deer. The council will have to vote on the ordinance at least one more meeting before it can be enacted.

The Parks and Recreation Board met several times in recent months to discuss deer feeding. According to the Polk County Deer Task Force, the city has 50 deer per square mile of habitat. The Department of Natural Resources recommends holding the deer population to 15 per square mile.

Overpopulation comes with an increased risk of Lyme disease for people and pets, and of course, damage to vehicles.

"They are wonderful animals to look at and everyone enjoys them, but we have plenty of them in the city of Clive," Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Canfield told the council.

Canfield said his department has received reports of Clive residents putting out mineral blocks, fruit and grain to attract deer to their yards.

"My hands are pretty well tied," he said. "I can't really go out and do anything with that."

If the ordinance is enacted, residents caught feeding deer will be given 24 hours to remove the deer feed before incurring a fine. The ordinance would create a $750 fine for the first time someone was found feeding deer, and a $1,000 fine for the second offense. Canfield said his department would hope to convince residents to stop feeding deer without having to actually fine anyone.

The ordinance would not prohibit bird feeders, which can sometimes attract deer. Nor would it prohibit fruit trees or vegetable gardens that deer might enjoy.
Urbandale enacted a similar ordinance in November 2007. Councilman Eric Klein said Urbandale's policy drove deer to neighboring cities where residents can still put out food for them.

"Inadvertently, we've become a magnet for more deer," Klein said.

Source: DeMoines Register

VIRGINIA NEWS: Seasonal Deer Feeding Ban Begins

Starting today, it is illegal to feed deer in Virginia, according to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

The annual prohibition, part of a 2006 regulation, is part of an effort to keep Virginia's deer population in check. The no-feeding rule will remain in place through the first Saturday in January, according to the department.

The regulation does not restrict the planting of crops, wildlife food plots or backyard and schoolyard habitats. Rather, it is aimed at the artificial feeding of deer, which can unnaturally increase the deer population.

Deer will take advantage of birdfeeders and will eat spilled seed. Individuals who inadvertently feed deer through their birdfeeders may be asked to temporarily take their feeders down, according to a department release.

An overabundance of deer can lead to damage to natural habitats and inappropriate "taming" of wildlife. It also can lead to increased human-deer conflicts, including vehicle collisions and disease transmission, such as tuberculosis and other deer ailments.

Many people feed deer because they believe it will keep them from starving, but deer die-offs due to starvation are practically nonexistent in Virginia, said Matt Knox and Nelson Lafon, VDGIF Deer Project coordinators, in a statement.

"We do not need more deer in Virginia," Lafon said. "In fact, we need fewer deer in many parts of the state."

Harrisonburg has used police snipers to thin the city's deer herd. Recently, city officials said they are considering allowing archery on a limited basis to control the deer population.

Based on a 2007 survey, most Virginians would like to see deer populations decrease through much of the state, the release said.

Source: Rocktown Weekly

OREGON NEWS: Deer Deaths Spread

Black-tailed deer are turning up dead in several rural Jackson County communities in what wildlife officials fear is a new outbreak of a disease associated with backyard feeding that killed hundreds of area deer earlier this decade.

Confirmed and suspected cases of the adenovirus have been found recently outside of Ashland, in the Colestine Valley, rural Gold Hill and outside of Jacksonville, in the highest numbers since 2002, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The highly contagious, quick-killing disease killed "easily hundreds, probably over 1,000" blacktails that summer and fall alone, but no exact estimates of the die-off were known, said Mark Vargas, the ODFW's Rogue District wildlife biologist in Central Point.

"We've seen more now than we've seen since 2002, and I hope it doesn't get worse," Vargas said. "We're hoping it doesn't turn into a big die-off, but we don't know.

"Definitely, we know it's not good," Vargas said.

Similar outbreaks of the disease also are occurring around Bend, and most outbreaks are associated with people setting out food and water for wildlife, said Collin Gillin, the ODFW's state veterinarian who tracks the disease.

The virus can spread as easily as breathing air from an infected animal, so water buckets and grain piles placed by well-intentioned landowners can turn into viral hot-spots that can kill groups of deer in days.

"Congregating deer through feeding is just going to spread it," Gillin said. "It's exacerbating the issue. It's not helping.

"The best thing humans can do is, don't do anything to bring deer together."

First diagnosed in Northern California in the mid-1990s, adenovirus hemorrhagic disease now is believed to have been responsible in the late 1980s for killing hundreds of deer whose deaths originally were attributed to a different disease known as bluetongue.

Infected deer can suffer from bloody diarrhea that can scour the animal or mouth lesions that keep it from feeding.

In some cases, ODFW biologist Steve Niemela said, the deer suffer massive internal hemorrhaging discovered only in field necropsies.

In recent cases, field necropsies revealed a liter or more of liquid in their lungs, Niemela said.

"We're finding more deer described as in good condition other than the fact that they're lying there dead," Niemela said.

Preliminary tests on samples from a deer found dead June 16 near Colestine concluded adenovirus. Not all suspected cases were tested, but the symptoms were similar, he said.

Humans and pets are not considered vulnerable to the virus. While the adenovirus has similar strains affecting cattle and sheep, there are no known instances of the virus spreading from deer to other species.

Placing food or water outside for wildlife is not illegal in Oregon, though a handful of cities, such as Philomath, have adopted anti-feeding ordinances.

Jacksonville considered such an ordinance earlier this year after a ruminitis outbreak was linked to artificial feed, but the city instead has urged residents to stop feeding deer.

"I'm really hoping this doesn't turn into the kind of outbreaks we've had before," Niemela said.

Source: Mail Tribune

WYOMING NEWS: The Elk Winter Feeding Dilemma

When the mighty elk herds of the West were facing the possibility of extinction from overhunting, settlement and neglect a century ago, people here stepped forward and began what has turned out to be a profound biological experiment.

They offered food to the straggling survivors.

Now a new and tightening circle of challenges is closing in on the elk and the human system that has sustained them, forcing a debate over the science, emotion and economics of protecting these magnificent animals and the landscape they inhabit. At the center is a critical question: Did human kindness backfire, setting the elk up for disaster?

A federal lawsuit filed last year by a coalition of environmental groups charges that feeding the elk violates the Fish and Wildlife Service’s charter to manage refuges for healthy populations and biological integrity. Feeding programs, the suit argues, endanger the elk and create monocultures that degrade the landscape for other creatures, like birds, which can no longer nest on feeding grounds stripped of willows by the ravenous herd.

Biological threats that could devastate the elk are also looming on the horizon, especially chronic wasting disease, or C.W.D., a neural disorder that spreads by mutated proteins, not unlike mad cow disease. Chronic wasting disease, found in an infected moose last year only about 45 miles from Jackson, has moved in an inexorable line in recent years from Wyoming’s southeast corner, where it first appeared, to the rest of the state. The disease was discovered in Colorado in the 1960s.

Read the full story at the New York Times

WASHINGTON STATE NEWS: State Considers Feeding Ban For Some Wildlife, Including Deer

DIAMOND POINT -- For the last three years, Jerry and Anne Stiles say they have been living with an infestation.

But it's not the creepy, crawly kind that infests their property.

The pests, they say, are deer.

They say the blacktail deer population near their home at Diamond Point has tripled because about three or four neighbors intentionally feed the animals regularly.

The result, they say, is that the deer that have lost their natural fear of people and have become increasingly aggressive.

That is why the couple testified at the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee of the state Legislature in Olympia last week in support of House Bill 1885.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, at the request of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, would allow law enforcement to fine people $104 for feeding certain types of wildlife if they fail to heed an earlier warning.

Wildlife listed in Van De Wege's bill includes deer, bears, cougars, wolves, ¬ opossum, skunks, raccoons, elk and turkey.

The bill would exempt farmers and hunters who unintentionally feed those animals.

"We don't mind the deer, per se," said Anne Stiles, 55.

"It's the feeding and behavioral changes that are really alarming."

Jerry Stiles said the deer walk up to people expecting to be fed, and they can be aggressive.

Anne Stiles said deer have nearly attacked her four times.

One of those incidents occurred about a year ago when she was walking her small poodle-mix dog, she said.

A doe, about 75 feet up the road, began moving toward her in a threatening way, she said.

Jerry Stiles said that after he heard his wife scream, he ran outside with an umbrella to try to scare the doe off.

The doe ran into an adjacent lot -- "and the next thing I know, it was charging at me full force."

"I really thought she was going to kill me," Ann said.

"I froze, screaming."

Jerry Stiles said the deer didn't stop its charge until he opened the umbrella in front of his wife.

This, he said, startled the animal, which ran away.

Bruce Bjork, Fish and Wildlife enforcement chief, said the biggest problem with feeding wildlife is that they become "habituated."

"Once they get habituated, they lose their fear of humans . . . then we end up posing a public health and safety risk," Bjork said.

"They are causing more disease, and more aggressiveness causes potential harm to humans."

Bjork said he was not aware of a particular problem in the Diamond Point area.

He said Fish and Wildlife warn people of the dangers of feeding wildlife, but without approval of Van De Wege's bill, the department can't impose penalties.

Jerry and Anne Stiles said other neighbors have felt threatened by the neighborhood's aggressive deer, but they don't know of any people or pets who have been injured by the animals.

Jerry Stiles said they and other people who live in the community of about 500 homes have tried to talk their neighbors out of feeding the deer.

"We do like the deer," he said," but this is an infestation."

Source: Peninsula Daily News

WISCONSIN NEWS: Oshkosh to Cull Urban Deer, Ban Feeding

A decision by the Oshkosh Common Council Tuesday evening to kill deer in the Vulcan Quarry did not sit well with several residents who wanted to see the animals' lives spared.

The city council voted 6-1 to contract with Urban Wildlife Specialists to have sharpshooters come into the Vulcan Quarry area during a night between January and April to kill up to 40 deer that have been populating the area and reportedly destroying landscaping. The Common Council also voted 6-1 to allow a variance to city ordinance banning deer feeding and firearms in the city.

Councilor Tony Palmeri cast the lone votes against both measures.

An amendment proposed by Palmeri to table the ordinance until the city has more time to assess the issue was overturned. City staff has been working on the efforts to get the urban deer population under control over the past two years.

"Does deer culling work? I've found that it doesn't," Palmeri said.

The culling is being done to prevent the deer from multiplying and moving into other areas of the community and preventing car-deer crashes, said Oshkosh Police Department Chief Scott Greuel.

"I don't think they (the sharpshooters) will even be within eyeshot of any residences," Greuel said. "If the baiting effort is successful, I've been told we will only need one night."

Oshkosh Common Councilor Bryan Bain said culling deer in the area is a necessary move.

"I understand the emotion behind this … I don't think anyone up here has anything against deer," Bain said. "We have an obligation as a city council to deal with it now before it effects more of the community."

Around 10 people voiced their opposition during the city council meeting Tuesday against the move to hire sharpshooters; many stating alternative non-lethal methods should be used to curb the problem.

"I'm here to speak on behalf of the deer," said Janet Helstrom, 1706 Evans St., during the Tuesday night meeting. "I'm really upset about this and that it would come down to shooting the deer. I hope we will be able to work something else out."

Several others spoke out on the issue. Amy Haberkorn, 4711 Indian Bend Road, said a solution she created and sprays on her landscaping prevents deer from destroying the plants.

Karen Fiedler, 4697 Indian Bend Road, said deer destroyed a perennial garden on her three acres, but she still didn't think the deer should be killed.

"It's bittersweet. I love looking at the deer but the deer also, literally ate things to the ground in my yard," she said. "But to kill them would just be such a pity."

Source: Oshkosh Northwestern

OREGON NEWS: Proposed Feeding Ban in Jacksonville

Jacksonville officials are considering a ban on feeding what one city council member calls "horned mountain rats," more commonly known as blacktailed deer.

If humans didn't feed the deer, state wildlife biologists say, there would be less overpopulation, disease and death in the herds.

Council member John Dodero says he favors an ordinance like those in Klamath Falls against feeding raccoons and in Philomath against feeding wild turkeys.

The new mayor, Bruce Garrett, says opinion is sharply divided.

Several Jacksonville deer have been found either dead or diseased — lethargic and foaming at the mouth — and were killed by wildlife biologists. One tested positive for a disease caused by eating corn, which deer can't digest.

Source: OregonLive.com

MICHIGAN NEWS: Deer Baiting Ban Upheld

A judge Thursday let stand a ban on feeding and baiting deer in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, ruling the state had authority to issue the emergency rule after its first case of chronic wasting disease was detected.

The decision was a blow for farmers and store owners who sued because they're being hurt financially by the ban. Hunters place piles of bait -- beets, carrots, corn, apples and other produce -- in areas to attract deer.

After hearing arguments, Ingham County Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk acknowledged that a number of people earn a living by growing and selling the bait. But she said the Michigan Department of Natural Resources based its decision on "sound scientific management principles."

"It did it for the purpose of preserving deer and elk herd so that those who make their living from it may continue to do so in the future," Draganchuk said of the ban imposed Aug. 26. It's effective for six months and could be extended.

State attorneys defended the policy as a necessary precaution to prevent the spread of the disease.

It wasn't immediately known if the plaintiffs would file an appeal. Their attorney, Ed McNeely argued the ban was arbitrary and said arguments that it would stop the disease from spreading were "vastly overblown." A number of farmers and store owners watched the arguments in a Lansing courtroom.

Mike Kinzel, part owner of Highland Fuel in Hartland, which sells $40,000 to $50,000 worth of deer feed, said afterward that he's concerned the ban could be in effect "forever" if the state doesn't start taking into consideration the overall financial hit to the hunting industry.

The infected deer was discovered at a captive deer operation near Grand Rapids. It's unknown if the disease exists in the wild deer population. Chronic wasting disease attacks the brains of infected deer and elk and produces small lesions that result in death.

It has never been shown to cause illness in humans.

"We are very pleased and felt all along we were doing the necessary and right thing," DNR spokeswoman Mary Dettloff said.

The state adopted a policy in 2002 that called for an immediate prohibition on feeding if chronic wasting disease were detected in either peninsula or within 50 miles of the state line.

Another part of the lawsuit pertaining to whether wildlife rehabilitation facilities can have fawns or not wasn't addressed Thursday.

Source: MLive

MICHIGAN NEWS: Legal Challenge to Deer Feeding Law

Several opponents of a ban on baiting and feeding deer in Michigan's Lower Peninsula are fighting it in circuit court.

Their petition was filed Tuesday in Ingham County.

The Department of Natural Resources imposed the ban in August after Michigan's first case of chronic wasting disease was discovered at a captive deer operation in Kent County.

Officials fear baiting and feeding encourage wild deer to congregate, making it easier for disease to spread.

The petition was filed by a beet and carrot grower, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, a store owner and hunters.

Farmer Gerald Malburg tells the Ludington Daily News deer baiting provides the only market for his carrots.

A DNR spokeswoman tells the newspaper she can't comment because the matter is in litigation.

Source: MLive

MICHIGAN NEWS: CWD Fallout Begins

Thousands of hunters and owners of small businesses are in turmoil over a Lower Peninsula-wide ban on baiting and feeding of deer that state officials have imposed because of Michigan's first chronic wasting disease case.

State officials want to protect the state's hunter-based marketplace, but critics say the ban threatens autumn's $500 million hunter-based economy.

Deer feed suppliers, hunters and owners of commercial deer facilities packed a state House hearing on Tuesday. More are expected at a Thursday meeting of the State Natural Resources Commission, which is considering an extension of the six-month ban.

"If this ban is not lifted, it puts me in bankruptcy," Saginaw grower-wholesaler Tony Benkert told the committee.

Bart's Fruit Market owner Mark Bartholomew of Houghton Lake, which normally supplies 250 deer feed outlets throughout Michigan, said he laid off 17 workers and will have to cut still more.

"The DNR is playing with a lot of people's livelihood," he said, referring to the Department of Natural Resources, which imposed the ban.

Natural Resources wildlife veterinarian Steve Schmitt told lawmakers allowing baiting to continue would be "like playing Russian roulette with the wild deer herd."

First identified in Colorado 40 years ago, the disease has spread eastward to 11 states and two Canadian provinces. None has been able to eradicate it.
In Wisconsin, where it showed up first in wild deer killed in 2001, the effort has included baiting bans in 26 of 72 counties and hiring sharpshooters to thin the deer herd. Schmitt said scientific models, based on experience in Colorado and Wisconsin, suggest it could wipe out three-fourths of the deer herd over 50 years.

DNR Director Rebecca Humphries imposed Michigan's baiting ban after the Aug. 25 confirmation of the fatal brain and nervous system disease in a doe at a Kent County deer breeding facility. That follows protocols set up in 2002 following the early Wisconsin cases.

The State Natural Resources and Agriculture departments also have slapped quarantines on more than 550 private facilities where deer are raised and kept for hunting, breeding and hobby purposes.

What's at stake is personal for Imlay City-area grower John Morocco, whose 40 acres annually produce 120,000 40-pound bags of carrots and $140,000 in income. That deer feed provides most of the essentials for his family of five. "I've been doing this for 30 years and I've been told we now don't have an income," said Morocco, 54. "I'm worried about how I'm going to feed my family."

The order doesn't prevent Morocco from raising or selling his carrots as deer bait. But his phone isn't ringing off the hook, as has been customary with archery deer season three weeks away and hunters making preparations for the Nov. 15 start of the general firearms season.

South of St. Johns in mid-Michigan, Andy Todoscuik expects a sharp drop in the $40,000 his landscaping-nursery-bakery business usually collects from deer feed sales in the fall. "It'll turn us into a ghost town until Thanksgiving," predicted Todoscuik.

Hunters also are perplexed.

Robert Tobolski and fellow workers at the Warren TACOM plant, who have a hunting club, last weekend removed corn and salt licks from their hunting area near Milford.
"I had a few bucks invested, let's put it that way, so it's kind of upsetting," said Tobolski, 52.

Source: Detroit News

VIRGINIA NEWS: Deer Feeding Now Illegal

Effective September 1, it will be illegal to feed deer statewide in Virginia. The prohibition runs through the first Saturday in January (January 3, 2009). The regulation designating the prohibition went into effect in 2006.
This regulation does NOT restrict the planting of crops such as corn and soybeans, wildlife food plots, and backyard or schoolyard habitats. It is intended to curb the artificial feeding of deer that leads to negative consequences.

Problems with feeding deer include: unnaturally increasing population numbers that damage natural habitats; disease transmission, including tuberculosis as well as many deer diseases; and human-deer conflicts such as deer/vehicle collisions and inappropriate semi-taming of wildlife.

In addition, feeding deer has many law enforcement implications. Deer hunting over bait is illegal in Virginia. Prior to the deer feeding prohibition, distinguishing between who was feeding deer and who was hunting over bait often caused law enforcement problems for the Department.

Deer Feeding was Booming Along with the Population

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) Deer Project Coordinators Matt Knox and Nelson Lafon noted when the regulation first took effect that for more than twenty years the practice of feeding deer had expanded across the eastern United States among both deer hunters and the non-hunting general public. The most common reason for feeding deer is to improve their nutrition and to supplement the habitat's ability to support more deer; in other words, to increase the carrying capacity for deer.

According to Knox, many people feed deer because they believe it will keep them from starving, but this is not a legitimate reason to feed deer in Virginia. In Virginia, deer die-offs due to winter starvation have been almost nonexistent and according to Lafon, "We do not need more deer in Virginia. In fact, we need fewer deer in many parts of the state."

Nelson Lafon completed a revision of the Department's Deer Management Plan in June 2007. Based on his research, it appears that the citizens of the Commonwealth would like to see deer populations reduced over most of the state. Lafon noted that Virginia's deer herds could be described as overabundant from a human tolerance perspective and stated that feeding deer only makes this overabundance problem worse.

Is Your Bird Feeder Attracting Deer?

Supplemental feeding artificially concentrates deer on the landscape, leading to over-browsed vegetation, especially in and around feeding sites. Over-browsing destroys habitat needed by other species, including songbirds.

It is not unheard of for deer to take advantage of bird feeders and begin to eat spilled birdseed. Individuals who inadvertently are feeding deer through their bird feeders may be requested by VDGIF conservation police officers to temporarily remove feeders until the deer disperse.

Deer Are Wild Animals

In their natural state, deer are wild animals that have a fear of humans because we have preyed upon deer for thousands of years. However, when deer are fed by people, they lose this fear, becoming less wild and often semi-domesticated.

Fed deer are often emboldened to seek human foods, leading them into conflict with people. Despite their gentle appearance, they can become lethally dangerous during mating season capable of goring and slashing with their sharp hooves and antlers. There are numerous cases across the country of individuals injured, and in some cases even killed, by deer they treated as pets.

People often treat the deer they feed as if they own them, even going so far as to name individual deer. Not only does this association diminish the "wildness" of "wildlife", it also leads to a mistaken notion regarding ownership of wildlife. Deer and other wildlife are owned by citizens of the Commonwealth and are managed by the Department as a public resource.

Deer Feeding Congregates Animals, Increasing the Spread of Disease

The increase in deer feeding that has taken place in Virginia over the past decade now represents one of Virginia's biggest wildlife disease risk factors. According to VDGIF Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Jonathan Sleeman, deer feeding sets the stage for maintaining and facilitating the spread of disease.

According to Dr. Sleeman, diseases are a big issue in deer management today across the United States. Feeding deer invariably leads to the prolonged crowding of animals in a small area, resulting in more direct animal to animal contact and contamination of feeding sites. Deer feeding has been implicated as a major risk factor and contributor in the three most important deer diseases in North America today. These include tuberculosis, brucellosis, and chronic wasting disease (CWD). Fortunately, none of these diseases have been found in deer in Virginia, although CWD is present in West Virginia, less than 5 miles from Frederick County, Virginia.

Please Don't Feed Deer

It is clear that the negative consequences of feeding deer outweigh the benefits. If you are not feeding deer, you should not start. If you are currently feeding deer, you should now stop. Feeding deer is against the law between September 1 and the first Saturday in January. If anyone sees or suspects someone of illegally feeding deer during this time period, or observes any wildlife violations, please report it to the Department's Wildlife Crime Line at 1-800-237-5712.

Source: Twin County News

COLORADO NEWS: Winter Feeding of Elk a "Success"

While 90% of the elk survived the winter, the feeding also weakened the gene pool and increased the population's susceptibility to disease.

KUSA – The Colorado Division of Wildlife is counting last winter's deer feeding program in the Gunnison Valley a tremendous success.

Extremely heavy snow all winter kept deer in the area from reaching normal forage, according to the DOW.

More than 200 DOW volunteers and staff provided food for much of the winter. The cost of the feeding program was approximately $1.5 million.

According to a DOW spokesperson, they were able to feed about 9,600 deer in the valley, saving more than 90 percent of the population.

DOW was unable to reach all the deer in the valley during last winter's heavy snow storms because many were in inaccessible areas.

The number of 2008 fall hunting licenses for doe mule deer will be extremely limited in the Gunnison Valley. DOW is using caution this season to ensure a healthy, stable population of deer.

Division of Wildlife's winter feeding program in the Eagle valley was also a success. Licenses in the Eagle Valley area will not be cut back as dramatically as in the Gunnison Valley.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/489lec

WYOMING NEWS: Lawsuit Filed to Block Feeding Elk

Environmentalists filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in an effort to stop a federal wildlife refuge in Wyoming from continuing its longtime practice of feeding wild elk. They say such feeding could lead to or worsen an outbreak of chronic wasting disease in the large wildlife populations around Yellowstone National Park.

Chronic wasting disease causes brain lesions in elk and deer that result in neurological damage and death. Animals with the disease must be killed to avoid spreading it, but there is no evidence it can be passed to humans by exposure although more research is being done.

Discovered in a Colorado research facility in the 1960s, chronic wasting disease has forced biologists to kill hundreds of infected wild deer from Wisconsin to Wyoming and thousands of others that are not infected to keep the disease from spreading.

Chronic wasting disease has been found just 70 or so miles from the ecosystem that includes the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyo., and Yellowstone National Park, worrying environmentalists that it could sicken and kill animals in and around the park.

Wildlife biologists warn that feeding the animals that crowd together at the National Elk Refuge and at 22 other state feeding grounds in Wyoming is likely to worsen any outbreak of chronic wasting disease. Conditions at feed lots increase disease rates up to 10 times those found in the wild because diseases are passed rapidly among animals in close contact.

“If you crowd animals together, you’ll increase the probability of transmission,” said Markus Peterson, a wildlife-disease scientist from Texas A&M University. “They really need to rethink the feeding of elk in Wyoming.”

Environmentalists and others say the crowding of elk into the refuge at Jackson has sharply altered natural conditions. About 8,300 elk winter there.

“Basically, we’ve got way too many animals on too small an area for too long a time,” said Barry Reiswig, a retired refuge manager who now lives near Cody, Wyo. “They’re way over the elk refuge’s carrying capacity.”

The refuge’s current manager, Steve Kallin, said he had not seen the lawsuit. Asked about concern that feeding the elk could foster disease, Mr. Kallin said, “We’re looking at managing to minimize that potential.”

Wyoming’s economy would be affected by ending the feeding of elk at the refuge, which has become a tourist attraction. Last winter more than 25,000 people paid $16 each to ride on sleighs pulled by horses among herds of elk on snow-covered landscapes. In addition, ranchers do not want hungry wild elk competing with their cattle for food, and hunting outfitters want assurances that plenty of animals will be available for their clients to stalk.

The adjacent states of Montana and Idaho have banned the feeding of elk because of the risk of disease. Environmentalists said a plan completed by the refuge in 2007 acknowledged the seriousness of the threat, but did not recommend ending the feeding, which began a century ago during a harsh winter, to keep the elk from starvation.

If prions, the agents that cause chronic wasting disease, were to sweep through the refuge, experts say, they could live in the soil for decades and force the 25,000-acre refuge to close.

The lawsuit filed on Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., by Earthjustice, on behalf of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, Wyoming Outdoor Council and the National Wildlife Refuge Association, was against only the National Elk Refuge, and not the State of Wyoming, because the National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act requires that wildlife refuges be managed in a way that keeps the land and wildlife healthy. The law does not apply to state-managed wildlife.

Signs of other diseases that are spread more quickly through crowding, like brucellosis, scabies and hoof rot are present in the refuge, environmentalists say. Brucellosis, which causes cattle to abort their young, has been a particular problem in the Great Yellowstone Ecosystem. In Wyoming and Idaho the disease has been passed from elk or bison to cattle.

source: http://tinyurl.com/3hopp6