Lynx should be reintroduced into Britain to control rising deer populations, a senior Oxford University ecologist has said.
The big cats, which were hunted to extinction in this country 500 years ago, would be the most effective way of enforcing the annual cull of 500,000 deer that experts say is necessary to protect the countryside, according to Professor David Macdonald.
The head of the university's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit said that the predators would pose no risk to humans, and has urged for dozens of the animals to be imported from eastern Europe.
East Anglia and the Highlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland would be among the prime candidates for lynx restoration, which has previously been tried in countries including France, Italy and Austria.
"As far as I am aware there has not been any recorded case of a lynx being a danger to people and they are the most practical candidates for reintroduction into the UK," Prof Macdonald said.
"There are all these deer that people are having to control and the lynx could help out. A few sheep would be killed but experience on the Continent shows that it is manageable."
There are thought to be more than two million deer in Britain, the highest level for a thousand years. Farmers blame them for eating crops, destroying woodland and threatening native bird and animal life.
The population rise is partly blamed on the lack of natural predators but Peter Watson, director of the Deer Initiative which is charged with managing the deer population, said that a lynx reintroduction would not solve the problem. Currently 350,000 deer are culled in Britain a year, mostly by shotgun.
"Despite current deer management programme the population is still increasing, so if you want to see the numbers stabilise or decline you need to do something else. But I'm not convinced that natural predators can provide the scale of culling that is necessary," he said.
"There is clearly an issue with domestic livestock and pets as well. In Switzerland, nearly 200 sheep were killed by lynx in one year."
Any lynx reintroduction scheme should first be trialed in Scotland where deer populations are highest compared to human habitation, he added.
A spokesman for Natural England was cautious about the plan.
"Lynx are also territorial and you would need some pretty large home ranges for them – if you are going to introduce up to 100 animals which is what would be needed, then only a vast tract of land would be suitable."
Source: Telegraph
Friday, February 13, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT - INDIANA
Emerging Issues in White-tailed Deer Management
White-tailed deer are a biologically, socially, and economically important wildlife species. Decisions we make today in how to manage deer affects all of us. The purpose of this conference is to facilitate dialogue and new ideas related to the most critical issues in white-tailed deer management. Leading researchers from across the country will present an in-depth look into emerging issues including urban deer management, human dimensions, population management, and more.
For information click here
If you attend, stop by and visit me at my presentation:
How quickly do forests recover from deer impacts? Insights from Wisconsin exclosure studies.
White-tailed deer are a biologically, socially, and economically important wildlife species. Decisions we make today in how to manage deer affects all of us. The purpose of this conference is to facilitate dialogue and new ideas related to the most critical issues in white-tailed deer management. Leading researchers from across the country will present an in-depth look into emerging issues including urban deer management, human dimensions, population management, and more.
For information click here
If you attend, stop by and visit me at my presentation:
How quickly do forests recover from deer impacts? Insights from Wisconsin exclosure studies.
OHIO NEWS: CWD Not Detected in Ohio
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife, state and federal agriculture and wildlife officials collected 1,021 samples last year from hunter-harvested deer, primarily during the deer-gun season that ran December 1-7. All CWD testing is performed at the Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory of the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA).
In addition to CWD, 966 samples, or 94.6 percent of the hunter-harvested deer samples were also tested for bovine tuberculosis. Results found no evidence of this disease in Ohio deer. Additional CWD samples are being taken from road-killed deer, but those test results are not yet available.
Read the full story: State Journal
In addition to CWD, 966 samples, or 94.6 percent of the hunter-harvested deer samples were also tested for bovine tuberculosis. Results found no evidence of this disease in Ohio deer. Additional CWD samples are being taken from road-killed deer, but those test results are not yet available.
Read the full story: State Journal
OHIO NEWS: Granville Cull Successful
The village could begin seeing a reduction in the amount of residential landscaping damaged by deer if the bowhunting program continues to make gains as it did this year, says Clerk of Council Mollie Prasher, who oversees the program.
Bowhunters well more than doubled the deer harvest in the second year of a program designed to cut down on damage to landscaping.
A total of 47 hunters killed 95 deer this season during the four-month bowhunting season that ended Feb. 1. That compares with 37 taken by 17 hunters last year, when the program started 1 1/2 months into the season.
"This was a great outcome," said Mayor Melissa Hartfield. "The village staff did a great job."
Prasher said she believes the yield can be increased steadily over the next few years, with a positive effect on preserving landscaping. More hunters can be enrolled and residents have offered additional land on which they can hunt, she said.
"We haven't even begun to tap the market for hunters," she said. Prasher said she'd like see a deer harvest goal of 120-125 next year.
In addition to limiting the deer repopulation rate, bowhunting is also driving deer from the village into Granville Township or Newark to the east, Prasher said.
Contributing to the program's success this year, Prasher said, was the lifting of a state requirement limiting the number of deer a hunter could take in a single day to two.
In two of the areas where the largest number of deer were killed, the near east side and Fern Hill, residents also reported seeing a decrease in the number of deer.
Although some residents have objected to the program because of human safety or their concern for wildlife, there were very few complaints from residents, Prasher said. There were a few instances in which wounded deer wandered on neighboring properties, she said.
When requested by neighbors, the village posted "hunting zone" signs on properties being hunted.
"That alleviated their concerns," she said.
Source: Newark Advocate
Bowhunters well more than doubled the deer harvest in the second year of a program designed to cut down on damage to landscaping.
A total of 47 hunters killed 95 deer this season during the four-month bowhunting season that ended Feb. 1. That compares with 37 taken by 17 hunters last year, when the program started 1 1/2 months into the season.
"This was a great outcome," said Mayor Melissa Hartfield. "The village staff did a great job."
Prasher said she believes the yield can be increased steadily over the next few years, with a positive effect on preserving landscaping. More hunters can be enrolled and residents have offered additional land on which they can hunt, she said.
"We haven't even begun to tap the market for hunters," she said. Prasher said she'd like see a deer harvest goal of 120-125 next year.
In addition to limiting the deer repopulation rate, bowhunting is also driving deer from the village into Granville Township or Newark to the east, Prasher said.
Contributing to the program's success this year, Prasher said, was the lifting of a state requirement limiting the number of deer a hunter could take in a single day to two.
In two of the areas where the largest number of deer were killed, the near east side and Fern Hill, residents also reported seeing a decrease in the number of deer.
Although some residents have objected to the program because of human safety or their concern for wildlife, there were very few complaints from residents, Prasher said. There were a few instances in which wounded deer wandered on neighboring properties, she said.
When requested by neighbors, the village posted "hunting zone" signs on properties being hunted.
"That alleviated their concerns," she said.
Source: Newark Advocate
WISCONSIN NEWS: Continued Opposition to Oskhosh Cull
While only three deer have been killed so far by sharpshooters in Oshkosh, controversy surrounding the issue is alive and well.
"The deer were out there before other houses were," said Faye Helstrom of Oshkosh. "We're invading their territory."
Contention boiled over well before a city council meeting discussing the issue even began. As both sides met, heated words filled the hallway.
"A huge buck came across the street. I don't know how they missed this deer," Nancy Binder of Oshkosh said describe a near miss. "I would hate to have my grandchildren in that car."
Supporters feel the growing deer population is a safety risk, while opponents claim the city council should have further explored non-lethal means of controlling the herd.
"Look what's happened since you made a decision to cull these deer," said Amy Haberkorn of Oshkosh. "The anger is growing and it's going to continue to grow and divide the city."
Of the three deer killed, Oshkosh police told the crowd one was a fawn, drawing boos from some. However, others say the issue must be treated rationally.
"Their argument is purely emotional and I don't think they should be given the same weight as the people who are actually dealing with the deer problems in their own neighborhood," an Oshkosh man said.
The council has already made its stance on the issue clear. All but one member has voted in favor of sharpshooters.
"We're going to fight city hall and we're going to win this one," Janet Helstrom of Oshkosh said.
Opponents of the cull say they've collected more than 700 signatures but at this point no change has been made. The sharpshooters have a contract to cull up to 40 deer by the end of the year.
Source: Fox 11 Online
"The deer were out there before other houses were," said Faye Helstrom of Oshkosh. "We're invading their territory."
Contention boiled over well before a city council meeting discussing the issue even began. As both sides met, heated words filled the hallway.
"A huge buck came across the street. I don't know how they missed this deer," Nancy Binder of Oshkosh said describe a near miss. "I would hate to have my grandchildren in that car."
Supporters feel the growing deer population is a safety risk, while opponents claim the city council should have further explored non-lethal means of controlling the herd.
"Look what's happened since you made a decision to cull these deer," said Amy Haberkorn of Oshkosh. "The anger is growing and it's going to continue to grow and divide the city."
Of the three deer killed, Oshkosh police told the crowd one was a fawn, drawing boos from some. However, others say the issue must be treated rationally.
"Their argument is purely emotional and I don't think they should be given the same weight as the people who are actually dealing with the deer problems in their own neighborhood," an Oshkosh man said.
The council has already made its stance on the issue clear. All but one member has voted in favor of sharpshooters.
"We're going to fight city hall and we're going to win this one," Janet Helstrom of Oshkosh said.
Opponents of the cull say they've collected more than 700 signatures but at this point no change has been made. The sharpshooters have a contract to cull up to 40 deer by the end of the year.
Source: Fox 11 Online
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
MICHIGAN NEWS: Rochester Hills Cull Halted Amid Outcry
After months of protests and strongly voiced opposition to a deer culling operation in Rochester Hills, the city council voted about midnight Tuesday to halt the effort.
In an unexpected 4-3 vote after a long meeting that started at 7:30 p.m. Monday, the council voted to stop the culling -- which started last month -- and create a committee to study the city’s deer management policy.
Residents were excited at the council’s decision.
“I think this is fantastic,” said Carol Donovan, adding that she believes the issue finally became clearer to council members. “I am surprised.”
Council President Greg Hooper and Councilmen J. Martin Brennan and Vern Pixley voted against the measure, with Councilman Michael Webber being the surprise vote in favor of stopping the cull, which the council approved in November.
“I go back and forth on this issue, I really have. I really struggle with it,” Webber said. “I don’t feel as though the culling has had the impact that we thought it would.”
Councilman Erik Ambrozaitis, who made the motion to stop the cull, said fewer than 20 deer had been killed by sharpshooters with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, which was handling the effort for the city this winter for free. The city had permits from the Department of Natural Resources to kill up to 200 deer.
Webber said during the meeting that the cull was scheduled to stop at the end of this month.
This decision to halt the effort came under mounting pressure by those who vocally opposed the culling at council meetings and through protests. Dozens turned out at the meeting Monday to oppose the cull. For Rochester Hills resident Diane Pawlowicz, 62, it was disheartening that the elected officials -- at least initially -- seemed disinterested in hearing what people had to say.
“I voted for you,” she said. “I hoped that this would be a team of people that I could trust.”
But Brennan, standing up behind the council’s dais during the meeting, said that the council’s decision in November to approve the cull was the right one.
He said that Rochester Hills is a busy community, with people who don’t want to change their lifestyles by driving slower on roads to prevent deer-vehicle accidents, which he said he counts as one of the biggest concerns.
“This is a major suburb of Detroit,” Brennan said. “It’s not Walden pond.”
But these types of accidents have already decreased.
In 2007, there were 219 vehicle-deer crashes in the city, but area agencies project that number has dropped to a maximum of 160 in 2008, Lance DeVoe, the naturalist for Rochester Hills, has said. The expected decrease, DeVoe said, can most likely be attributed to a disease that killed about 100 deer in the city last year.
The next move for council is to create a committee of six citizens, three council members and city staff to assess the city’s deer management strategies, including reviewing deer-vehicle crash statistics, identifying possible sources of funding for implementing the policy and reviewing the deer cull.
Councilman Jim Rosen said the council moved too quickly in approving the cull.
“Let’s learn something from this,” he said, “and not ever do anything like this again.”
Source: freep.com
In an unexpected 4-3 vote after a long meeting that started at 7:30 p.m. Monday, the council voted to stop the culling -- which started last month -- and create a committee to study the city’s deer management policy.
Residents were excited at the council’s decision.
“I think this is fantastic,” said Carol Donovan, adding that she believes the issue finally became clearer to council members. “I am surprised.”
Council President Greg Hooper and Councilmen J. Martin Brennan and Vern Pixley voted against the measure, with Councilman Michael Webber being the surprise vote in favor of stopping the cull, which the council approved in November.
“I go back and forth on this issue, I really have. I really struggle with it,” Webber said. “I don’t feel as though the culling has had the impact that we thought it would.”
Councilman Erik Ambrozaitis, who made the motion to stop the cull, said fewer than 20 deer had been killed by sharpshooters with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, which was handling the effort for the city this winter for free. The city had permits from the Department of Natural Resources to kill up to 200 deer.
Webber said during the meeting that the cull was scheduled to stop at the end of this month.
This decision to halt the effort came under mounting pressure by those who vocally opposed the culling at council meetings and through protests. Dozens turned out at the meeting Monday to oppose the cull. For Rochester Hills resident Diane Pawlowicz, 62, it was disheartening that the elected officials -- at least initially -- seemed disinterested in hearing what people had to say.
“I voted for you,” she said. “I hoped that this would be a team of people that I could trust.”
But Brennan, standing up behind the council’s dais during the meeting, said that the council’s decision in November to approve the cull was the right one.
He said that Rochester Hills is a busy community, with people who don’t want to change their lifestyles by driving slower on roads to prevent deer-vehicle accidents, which he said he counts as one of the biggest concerns.
“This is a major suburb of Detroit,” Brennan said. “It’s not Walden pond.”
But these types of accidents have already decreased.
In 2007, there were 219 vehicle-deer crashes in the city, but area agencies project that number has dropped to a maximum of 160 in 2008, Lance DeVoe, the naturalist for Rochester Hills, has said. The expected decrease, DeVoe said, can most likely be attributed to a disease that killed about 100 deer in the city last year.
The next move for council is to create a committee of six citizens, three council members and city staff to assess the city’s deer management strategies, including reviewing deer-vehicle crash statistics, identifying possible sources of funding for implementing the policy and reviewing the deer cull.
Councilman Jim Rosen said the council moved too quickly in approving the cull.
“Let’s learn something from this,” he said, “and not ever do anything like this again.”
Source: freep.com
Friday, February 06, 2009
ILLINOIS NEWS: Deer Harvest Down 5% Compared to Last Season
Illinois deer hunters experienced their lowest kill total since 2003 this past season, but the state's deer project manager is not pushing the panic button.
In fact, he's not even breaking a sweat.
"I know there's people that are alarmed right now," said Tom Micetich, who holds the post for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "I hear from a bunch of them, but I'm not terribly concerned.
"You'd think if the agency was in fact making an effort to curb the herd growth like we have since the 2003 season -- noting that was the peak in deer-vehicle accidents -- you'd see a decline in the harvest."
Preliminary totals released last week by the IDNR reveal Illinois hunters killed 188,425 deer. That's a 5.3 percent decline, or 11,246 fewer deer, than were harvested during the 2007-08 season. It represented the lowest total since the 2003-04 season, when 168,762 whitetails were harvested. [Twenty years ago, the harvest was just shy of 50,000 deer, and that was a state harvest record. -Ed.]
Illinois wasn't alone in experiencing a decline. Neighboring states Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota all saw their harvest totals dip. What has hunters worried is the kill total is decreasing even though the IDNR is issuing more permits.
"Guys get alarmed, but when you combine all the seasons and all the dead deer, it's not that bad," Micetich said. "In Wisconsin, hunters killed about 450,000 deer and were complaining they didn't see enough deer. It's kind of hard to kill almost a half-million deer and complain that you didn't see any."
Micetich said numbers are what people make of them. He noted that Illinois has an estimated 800,000 deer.
"In Illinois, we've killed nearly 200,000 deer for five straight years," he said. "Yeah, there's no deer out there. I wasn't discouraged by the total. When you look at the total, we're down 5.4 percent, but our actual doe harvest was up by .6 percent. That's a good thing."
Illinois' doe harvest was up nearly 1,200 from last season, but the buck harvest was down by more than 12,000. Micetich said a later gun season and unfavorable weather were likely the prime culprits for that dip.
Illinois' firearm season started a week later (Dec. 4-7) than last year, prompting many to believe hunters had missed the peak of the rut, or the time of the year when bucks and does mate.
"With an earlier season, you tend to have more chasing going on," Micetich said. "The boys are pursuing the girls, making them more visible. If you're on the tail end of that period when bucks aren't with does or are wore out from having chased them for three weeks and are going to lay up and recuperate from all the energy expended, that may have played a significant part of it.
"The other part of it was the weather itself kind of stunk both seasons with temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below normal. You have a bunch of hunters who were maybe fair-weather types that were waiting for the next season."
Locally, hunters in an 11-county area -- Bond, Clinton, Fayette, Jefferson, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington -- harvested 27,729 whitetails. That's 1,826 fewer than were killed last year.
Area hunters took 8,479 deer during the archery season, 16,442 during the firearm season and 2,040 during the late-winter antlerless only season. Jefferson County topped the list with 4,469 kills, followed by Randolph County (3,851) and Marion County (3,571).
Several changes could be in store for the 2009-10 deer season. Micetich said the IDNR is currently reviewing recommendations made by the Task Force on Deer Population Control
"I would suspect at this point, we're working toward that nine-day late-winter season and selling permits over the counter," Micetich said. "I don't think there's been any movement on the additional firearm deer day for the first season. I think we're going to wait and see what the hunter survey shows us."
Source: Belleville News-Democrat
In fact, he's not even breaking a sweat.
"I know there's people that are alarmed right now," said Tom Micetich, who holds the post for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. "I hear from a bunch of them, but I'm not terribly concerned.
"You'd think if the agency was in fact making an effort to curb the herd growth like we have since the 2003 season -- noting that was the peak in deer-vehicle accidents -- you'd see a decline in the harvest."
Preliminary totals released last week by the IDNR reveal Illinois hunters killed 188,425 deer. That's a 5.3 percent decline, or 11,246 fewer deer, than were harvested during the 2007-08 season. It represented the lowest total since the 2003-04 season, when 168,762 whitetails were harvested. [Twenty years ago, the harvest was just shy of 50,000 deer, and that was a state harvest record. -Ed.]
Illinois wasn't alone in experiencing a decline. Neighboring states Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota all saw their harvest totals dip. What has hunters worried is the kill total is decreasing even though the IDNR is issuing more permits.
"Guys get alarmed, but when you combine all the seasons and all the dead deer, it's not that bad," Micetich said. "In Wisconsin, hunters killed about 450,000 deer and were complaining they didn't see enough deer. It's kind of hard to kill almost a half-million deer and complain that you didn't see any."
Micetich said numbers are what people make of them. He noted that Illinois has an estimated 800,000 deer.
"In Illinois, we've killed nearly 200,000 deer for five straight years," he said. "Yeah, there's no deer out there. I wasn't discouraged by the total. When you look at the total, we're down 5.4 percent, but our actual doe harvest was up by .6 percent. That's a good thing."
Illinois' doe harvest was up nearly 1,200 from last season, but the buck harvest was down by more than 12,000. Micetich said a later gun season and unfavorable weather were likely the prime culprits for that dip.
Illinois' firearm season started a week later (Dec. 4-7) than last year, prompting many to believe hunters had missed the peak of the rut, or the time of the year when bucks and does mate.
"With an earlier season, you tend to have more chasing going on," Micetich said. "The boys are pursuing the girls, making them more visible. If you're on the tail end of that period when bucks aren't with does or are wore out from having chased them for three weeks and are going to lay up and recuperate from all the energy expended, that may have played a significant part of it.
"The other part of it was the weather itself kind of stunk both seasons with temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below normal. You have a bunch of hunters who were maybe fair-weather types that were waiting for the next season."
Locally, hunters in an 11-county area -- Bond, Clinton, Fayette, Jefferson, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington -- harvested 27,729 whitetails. That's 1,826 fewer than were killed last year.
Area hunters took 8,479 deer during the archery season, 16,442 during the firearm season and 2,040 during the late-winter antlerless only season. Jefferson County topped the list with 4,469 kills, followed by Randolph County (3,851) and Marion County (3,571).
Several changes could be in store for the 2009-10 deer season. Micetich said the IDNR is currently reviewing recommendations made by the Task Force on Deer Population Control
"I would suspect at this point, we're working toward that nine-day late-winter season and selling permits over the counter," Micetich said. "I don't think there's been any movement on the additional firearm deer day for the first season. I think we're going to wait and see what the hunter survey shows us."
Source: Belleville News-Democrat
OHIO NEWS: Record Deer Harvest, Yet Falls Short of Management Goal
Ohio hunters set a record by harvesting 248,515 white-tailed deer during the 2008-09 seasons, according to preliminary reports from the Division of Wildlife.
The deer kill topped the 237,316 white-tails checked in 2006-07, and was 1,485 short of the division's goal of hunters taking a quarter-million bucks and does.
The seasonal deer harvest was reported to the Ohio Wildlife Council at its monthly meeting Wednesday. The total could increase slightly before it becomes official, with a few check slips yet to be counted.
Game management supervisor Dave Risley outlined for the council recommended changes for next year's deer season to be voted on in April. Included is moving the four-day muzzleloading rifle season from a post-Christmas event to Jan. 9-12, and expanding the deer bag limit for sportsmen hunting in Ohio's three deer zones during the early archery season.
During the early archery season (Sept. 26-Nov. 30) that leads to the statewide gun season, discounted $15 antlerless deer permits again will be available and deer zone limits will apply only to deer killed in that zone. With an early archery season limit of two deer in Zone A, four in Zone B and six in Zone C, a traveling sportsman could legally take 12 deer by hunting in all of the zones.
That could jump to 18 deer if a hunter takes advantage of the five urban deer zones around Ohio's major cities, where the season limit is six antlerless deer. The limit of one antlered deer, or buck, per season would still be in force. A regular either-sex deer tag is $24, and must be purchased before buying discount antlerless deer permits. An earlier proposal to allow hunters to kill an unlimited number of antlerless deer in the urban deer zones has been scrapped.
"This past season, we had about 5,000 hunters who killed three or more deer," said Risley. "We wanted the changes in order to simplify the limits."
Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
The deer kill topped the 237,316 white-tails checked in 2006-07, and was 1,485 short of the division's goal of hunters taking a quarter-million bucks and does.
The seasonal deer harvest was reported to the Ohio Wildlife Council at its monthly meeting Wednesday. The total could increase slightly before it becomes official, with a few check slips yet to be counted.
Game management supervisor Dave Risley outlined for the council recommended changes for next year's deer season to be voted on in April. Included is moving the four-day muzzleloading rifle season from a post-Christmas event to Jan. 9-12, and expanding the deer bag limit for sportsmen hunting in Ohio's three deer zones during the early archery season.
During the early archery season (Sept. 26-Nov. 30) that leads to the statewide gun season, discounted $15 antlerless deer permits again will be available and deer zone limits will apply only to deer killed in that zone. With an early archery season limit of two deer in Zone A, four in Zone B and six in Zone C, a traveling sportsman could legally take 12 deer by hunting in all of the zones.
That could jump to 18 deer if a hunter takes advantage of the five urban deer zones around Ohio's major cities, where the season limit is six antlerless deer. The limit of one antlered deer, or buck, per season would still be in force. A regular either-sex deer tag is $24, and must be purchased before buying discount antlerless deer permits. An earlier proposal to allow hunters to kill an unlimited number of antlerless deer in the urban deer zones has been scrapped.
"This past season, we had about 5,000 hunters who killed three or more deer," said Risley. "We wanted the changes in order to simplify the limits."
Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
Thursday, February 05, 2009
MICHIGAN NEWS: No CWD Detected in Wild Population
None of 9,000 free-ranging deer checked for chronic wasting disease around the state in 2008 tested positive, state wildlife official are expected to report today at the Natural Resources Commission meeting in Lansing.
The disease was discovered in one Kent County breeding farm deer last August. To date, it is the only deer to test positive for CWD. Disease experts also tested 4,000 deer on captive breeding facilities.
"We're not out of the woods yet," said Steve Schmitt, the wildlife veterinarian for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "We are going to do surveillance for another two years around Kent County and will always be doing some type of CWD surveillance around the state because you never know when the disease may enter the state."
Schmitt said of the 9,000 deer the agency tested statewide, 1,523 were from the nine-township zone around the farm where the infected deer was found. A total of 1,878 free-ranging deer were tested in Kent County. Another 1,845 deer were tested in the counties that surround Kent.
"The most important number is the 1,523," Schmitt said. "Those are the deer from right around the area where the sick deer was found."
Source: MLive
The disease was discovered in one Kent County breeding farm deer last August. To date, it is the only deer to test positive for CWD. Disease experts also tested 4,000 deer on captive breeding facilities.
"We're not out of the woods yet," said Steve Schmitt, the wildlife veterinarian for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "We are going to do surveillance for another two years around Kent County and will always be doing some type of CWD surveillance around the state because you never know when the disease may enter the state."
Schmitt said of the 9,000 deer the agency tested statewide, 1,523 were from the nine-township zone around the farm where the infected deer was found. A total of 1,878 free-ranging deer were tested in Kent County. Another 1,845 deer were tested in the counties that surround Kent.
"The most important number is the 1,523," Schmitt said. "Those are the deer from right around the area where the sick deer was found."
Source: MLive
KANSAS NEWS: Too Many Deer in Shawnee Mission Park
Johnson County commissioners will be discussing at 9:30 a.m. today what to do about all the deer in Shawnee Mission Park.
People who live near the park are tired of deer destroying lawns and gardens, or leaving mounds of droppings. One woman in the area was diagnosed three years ago with Lyme disease, which is carried by infected ticks that thrive on deer.
According to the Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City, there are at least 400 deer in the park. The county parks board said this is at least eight times as many deer as the park can support. [The park is 1250 acres, so the deer population density is about 200 per square mile! - Ed.]
The parks board director said that he wants the district's biodiversity committee to come up with a plan to manage the deer herd. It could be a year before any plan could be put into place.
The park district is working on ordinances allowing for hunting of deer on public land, but these have not been approved.
Source: KMBC
People who live near the park are tired of deer destroying lawns and gardens, or leaving mounds of droppings. One woman in the area was diagnosed three years ago with Lyme disease, which is carried by infected ticks that thrive on deer.
According to the Lyme Association of Greater Kansas City, there are at least 400 deer in the park. The county parks board said this is at least eight times as many deer as the park can support. [The park is 1250 acres, so the deer population density is about 200 per square mile! - Ed.]
The parks board director said that he wants the district's biodiversity committee to come up with a plan to manage the deer herd. It could be a year before any plan could be put into place.
The park district is working on ordinances allowing for hunting of deer on public land, but these have not been approved.
Source: KMBC
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
MASSACHUSETTS NEWS: Struggling with Suburban Deer Management
Tom DePersia has been hunting in Marshfield for 25 years, long enough to see the deer population explode, as undeveloped land available for hunting shrinks.
Now, the town is seeing the results, DePersia said. Deer are roaming residential neighborhoods, running in front of cars, eating plantings and carrying Lyme disease into back yards.
Marshfield is among many South Shore towns struggling to balance public safety and what hunters say is the need to thin the deer population.
State regulations prohibit hunting within 500 feet of a dwelling and 150 feet of public roads. Towns can set additional restrictions on hunting on conservation land, and many do.
Marshfield closed conservation land to hunters 20 years ago.
The problem, hunters say, is that private undeveloped land, once open to hunters, has been sold off and developed, further limiting hunting.
Between 1971 and 1999, nearly 10,000 acres of forested land in 11 towns between Weymouth and Duxbury was developed for residential use, according to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
Pembroke police Chief Michael Ohrenberger said hunting has “become less and less frequent over the years because of the limited space.”
Jason Zimmer of the state Division of Fisheries & Wildlife said it is important to keep open whatever land remains to help control deer populations.
“We always advocate for as much land open as possible,” he said. “Before too long, those are the only areas we’re going to have left to effectively manage the deer herd.”
Duxbury and Hanover now allow bow hunting on some conservation lands.
Hingham allows bow hunting with written permission from the conservation commission on certain parcels.
“Hunters are getting squeezed a bit,” Hanover Conservation Agent Patrick Gallivan said. “I think some of the areas that were really pretty rural, now there’s subdivisions right around that.”
Police say they get calls every year from residents, complaining about hunters.
Zimmer said some of the conflict is because people who move from the city to smaller South Shore towns aren’t used to seeing hunters.
“People have been hunting deer in Marshfield since deer have been in Marshfield; it’s not something new,” he said.
In Marshfield, the conservation commission will meet Wednesday night to begin talks about easing the hunting restriction on conservation land.
A decision will be made after a public hearing in March.
DePersia, who hunts with his sons, said the increasing population of deer has made people more aware of the problems associated with them.
“I think there’s more of an awareness of some of the damages and health risks ... where (residents ) want to see more hunting and thinning out the herd,” he said.
Source: The Daily News Tribune
Now, the town is seeing the results, DePersia said. Deer are roaming residential neighborhoods, running in front of cars, eating plantings and carrying Lyme disease into back yards.
Marshfield is among many South Shore towns struggling to balance public safety and what hunters say is the need to thin the deer population.
State regulations prohibit hunting within 500 feet of a dwelling and 150 feet of public roads. Towns can set additional restrictions on hunting on conservation land, and many do.
Marshfield closed conservation land to hunters 20 years ago.
The problem, hunters say, is that private undeveloped land, once open to hunters, has been sold off and developed, further limiting hunting.
Between 1971 and 1999, nearly 10,000 acres of forested land in 11 towns between Weymouth and Duxbury was developed for residential use, according to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.
Pembroke police Chief Michael Ohrenberger said hunting has “become less and less frequent over the years because of the limited space.”
Jason Zimmer of the state Division of Fisheries & Wildlife said it is important to keep open whatever land remains to help control deer populations.
“We always advocate for as much land open as possible,” he said. “Before too long, those are the only areas we’re going to have left to effectively manage the deer herd.”
Duxbury and Hanover now allow bow hunting on some conservation lands.
Hingham allows bow hunting with written permission from the conservation commission on certain parcels.
“Hunters are getting squeezed a bit,” Hanover Conservation Agent Patrick Gallivan said. “I think some of the areas that were really pretty rural, now there’s subdivisions right around that.”
Police say they get calls every year from residents, complaining about hunters.
Zimmer said some of the conflict is because people who move from the city to smaller South Shore towns aren’t used to seeing hunters.
“People have been hunting deer in Marshfield since deer have been in Marshfield; it’s not something new,” he said.
In Marshfield, the conservation commission will meet Wednesday night to begin talks about easing the hunting restriction on conservation land.
A decision will be made after a public hearing in March.
DePersia, who hunts with his sons, said the increasing population of deer has made people more aware of the problems associated with them.
“I think there’s more of an awareness of some of the damages and health risks ... where (residents ) want to see more hunting and thinning out the herd,” he said.
Source: The Daily News Tribune
Thursday, January 29, 2009
UK NEWS: Deer Populations Up, Need for Culling Up
The deer population in Britain has risen sharply in recent years and is now between 1.5 and 2 million.
The boom in numbers has lead to an increasing number of motorists being injured in collisions with the animals on the road.
They are also causing damage to the countryside.
Now conservationists say a cull is the only viable option.
Ashdown Forest, in East Sussex, which has several thousand Fallow Deer, about two dozen Roe Deer, large numbers of Muntjac and a small herd of Sika, has the highest number of deer-vehicle collisions in Britain.
In 2000 rangers attended 100 collisions involving deer compared to 266 in 2008, despite having fewer staff in 2008. The actual number of collisions is believed to be around 500 a year.
Dr Hew Prendergast, Clerk to the Conservators of Ashdown Forest, said: "The damage the deer are doing in the countryside and the numbers of casualties there are on the roads mean that something must be done.
No-one wants to blast deer to kingdom come for the hell of it but its better to have them killed humanely and sensitively than to let them die in agony on the side of a road."
He added: "The logistics of fencing off all the roads are impossible really to consider so a reduction of the population as a whole needs to be done."
Peter Watson, executive director of the Deer Initiative, said to keep the deer population static, 25 per cent needed to be culled every year.
With the deer population in Britain rising to up to two million, that requires around 350,000 deer to be culled.
Mr Watson said: "The impact of DVCs is far too high in relation to the number of deer. Deers have value but in some areas there are too many accidents and the balance is wrong."
Culling is not seen as the only answer but is hugely effective.
A culling programme in Herefordshire in 2005 reduced the number of DVC on the A49 from 50 to zero the following year.
Mr Watson added: "Sometimes it's the only way. There is no doubt that if you significantly reduce the deer population you can influence road traffic accidents."
DVC hotspots include Ashdown Forest, The New Forest, Thetford Forest in Norfolk and Cannock Chase, Staffs.
Trevor Banham, Chief Wildlife Ranger for the Forestry Commission East of England, said at Thetford Forest, which has a deer population of around 14,000, they cull 25 per cent every year to keep numbers down.
Forced to deal around 200 DVCs, he said there was no need for an extra cull.
He added: "We do have accidents but deer are wild animals. You can't fence them in."
Source: Telegraph
The boom in numbers has lead to an increasing number of motorists being injured in collisions with the animals on the road.
They are also causing damage to the countryside.
Now conservationists say a cull is the only viable option.
Ashdown Forest, in East Sussex, which has several thousand Fallow Deer, about two dozen Roe Deer, large numbers of Muntjac and a small herd of Sika, has the highest number of deer-vehicle collisions in Britain.
In 2000 rangers attended 100 collisions involving deer compared to 266 in 2008, despite having fewer staff in 2008. The actual number of collisions is believed to be around 500 a year.
Dr Hew Prendergast, Clerk to the Conservators of Ashdown Forest, said: "The damage the deer are doing in the countryside and the numbers of casualties there are on the roads mean that something must be done.
No-one wants to blast deer to kingdom come for the hell of it but its better to have them killed humanely and sensitively than to let them die in agony on the side of a road."
He added: "The logistics of fencing off all the roads are impossible really to consider so a reduction of the population as a whole needs to be done."
Peter Watson, executive director of the Deer Initiative, said to keep the deer population static, 25 per cent needed to be culled every year.
With the deer population in Britain rising to up to two million, that requires around 350,000 deer to be culled.
Mr Watson said: "The impact of DVCs is far too high in relation to the number of deer. Deers have value but in some areas there are too many accidents and the balance is wrong."
Culling is not seen as the only answer but is hugely effective.
A culling programme in Herefordshire in 2005 reduced the number of DVC on the A49 from 50 to zero the following year.
Mr Watson added: "Sometimes it's the only way. There is no doubt that if you significantly reduce the deer population you can influence road traffic accidents."
DVC hotspots include Ashdown Forest, The New Forest, Thetford Forest in Norfolk and Cannock Chase, Staffs.
Trevor Banham, Chief Wildlife Ranger for the Forestry Commission East of England, said at Thetford Forest, which has a deer population of around 14,000, they cull 25 per cent every year to keep numbers down.
Forced to deal around 200 DVCs, he said there was no need for an extra cull.
He added: "We do have accidents but deer are wild animals. You can't fence them in."
Source: Telegraph
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
MINNESOTA NEWS: Farmed Elk Tests Positive for CWD
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Board of Animal Health says that a farmed elk from Olmsted County has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, triggering a quarantine.
This quarantine means no deer, elk or similar animals can move on or off the farm. Investigators are trying to determine the source of the infection and if has been spread.
The Board of Animal Health quarantined the herd on Friday after nerve tissue from the animal was tested at the U.S. Agriculture Department's lab in Ames, Iowa.
Since 2003, Minnesota has required that when farmed deer or elk over 16 months old are slaughtered a sample must be submitted for CWD testing.
CWD is a fatal brain and nervous system disease that threatens the state's 650 farms where deer or elk are raised commercially.
Source: MSNBC
This quarantine means no deer, elk or similar animals can move on or off the farm. Investigators are trying to determine the source of the infection and if has been spread.
The Board of Animal Health quarantined the herd on Friday after nerve tissue from the animal was tested at the U.S. Agriculture Department's lab in Ames, Iowa.
Since 2003, Minnesota has required that when farmed deer or elk over 16 months old are slaughtered a sample must be submitted for CWD testing.
CWD is a fatal brain and nervous system disease that threatens the state's 650 farms where deer or elk are raised commercially.
Source: MSNBC
Thursday, January 22, 2009
NEW JERSEY NEWS: Essex County Contemplates Repeat Cull
Phyllis Kessler was driving past a northern New Jersey shopping mall a few years ago when five or six deer darted into the street. Almost all made it across - except the one under Kessler's front wheel.
She called the police, who shot and killed the injured animal as she stood nearby.
"It was terrible," Kessler recalled.
Such incidents could decline if local officials have their way. For a second year in a row, Essex County plans to use trained marksmen to help thin the deer population of a 2,000-acre land preserve in northern New Jersey.
The 10-day hunt in the South Mountain Reservation is designed to cull white-tailed deer, which reproduce quickly and are a problem for many New Jersey communities because they ravage vegetation, cause traffic accidents and carry ticks that spread Lyme disease.
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. said the hunt will be held from Jan. 27 until Feb. 26.
DiVincenzo said the area "is being devastated" by the hungry animals.
This year's hunt is not unexpected. Last year, DiVincenzo said it might take several years to thin the herd to about 60 deer - the number of deer he said the area can safely handle. Editor's note: that's about 20 per square mile and about the right number of deer. The goal this year, he said, is to kill at least 100.
Last spring, volunteer marksmen killed 213 of the hundreds of deer estimated to live in the preserve. Of those, 88 were pregnant females.
Most of the meat from last year's hunt was donated to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. DiVincenzo said the meat would again be donated there this year.
The preserve borders hundreds of high-priced homes in the thick of the country's most crowded state and residents and animal activists have objected to the hunt.
"It's so wrong on so many levels," Angi Metler, director of the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance, said Thursday.
Deer-culling, as it's known, has stirred controversy in other states. A lawsuit was recently filed in a Detroit suburb to stop a herd-thinning program. Last year, near San Francisco, protesters rallied against a deer-culling program there.
Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said his group supports sharpshooting as a tool for population control but would also like to see a strategy that incorporates non-lethal tactics.
A total of nine municipalities in New Jersey have deer-culling programs, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.
A more natural way, he noted, is to have predators in the area. But Tittel doesn't expect that anytime soon.
"I don't think anyone wants wolves and mountain lions" in northern New Jersey, he said.
Source: Newsday
She called the police, who shot and killed the injured animal as she stood nearby.
"It was terrible," Kessler recalled.
Such incidents could decline if local officials have their way. For a second year in a row, Essex County plans to use trained marksmen to help thin the deer population of a 2,000-acre land preserve in northern New Jersey.
The 10-day hunt in the South Mountain Reservation is designed to cull white-tailed deer, which reproduce quickly and are a problem for many New Jersey communities because they ravage vegetation, cause traffic accidents and carry ticks that spread Lyme disease.
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. said the hunt will be held from Jan. 27 until Feb. 26.
DiVincenzo said the area "is being devastated" by the hungry animals.
This year's hunt is not unexpected. Last year, DiVincenzo said it might take several years to thin the herd to about 60 deer - the number of deer he said the area can safely handle. Editor's note: that's about 20 per square mile and about the right number of deer. The goal this year, he said, is to kill at least 100.
Last spring, volunteer marksmen killed 213 of the hundreds of deer estimated to live in the preserve. Of those, 88 were pregnant females.
Most of the meat from last year's hunt was donated to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. DiVincenzo said the meat would again be donated there this year.
The preserve borders hundreds of high-priced homes in the thick of the country's most crowded state and residents and animal activists have objected to the hunt.
"It's so wrong on so many levels," Angi Metler, director of the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance, said Thursday.
Deer-culling, as it's known, has stirred controversy in other states. A lawsuit was recently filed in a Detroit suburb to stop a herd-thinning program. Last year, near San Francisco, protesters rallied against a deer-culling program there.
Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said his group supports sharpshooting as a tool for population control but would also like to see a strategy that incorporates non-lethal tactics.
A total of nine municipalities in New Jersey have deer-culling programs, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.
A more natural way, he noted, is to have predators in the area. But Tittel doesn't expect that anytime soon.
"I don't think anyone wants wolves and mountain lions" in northern New Jersey, he said.
Source: Newsday
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
MARYLAND NEWS: Loch Raven Deer to be Culled
By a vote of 5-1, the Baltimore County Council approved a measure last night that will allow, for the first time, firearms hunting of deer in a restricted area of the Loch Raven watershed.
Council President Joseph Bartenfelder dissented without comment.
Nearly 900 deer are feeding in an ecosystem that can sustain about 100, officials said. The growing herd is destroying the vegetation and stripping the trees that surround the reservoir, which provides drinking water to about 2 million residents.
"With overpopulation like this, a lethal solution is the only solution," said David Carroll, county director of sustainability. "In fact, we are protecting our own drinking water."
Bowhunting, which began in the watershed Sept. 15, also for the first time, will likely reduce the herd by about 200 before the season ends Jan. 31. But more animals must be culled to prevent degradation of the water supply and damage to the habitats of other wildlife, officials said.
Sharpshooters, trained and certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will hunt with rifles in the watershed next month. They will likely take enough deer within a week, officials said.
Carcasses will be donated to Farmers for the Hungry, which provides food to the needy, officials said.
Opponents to bow and firearms hunting have urged the council to manage deer in a more humane manner.
Source: Baltimore Sun
Council President Joseph Bartenfelder dissented without comment.
Nearly 900 deer are feeding in an ecosystem that can sustain about 100, officials said. The growing herd is destroying the vegetation and stripping the trees that surround the reservoir, which provides drinking water to about 2 million residents.
"With overpopulation like this, a lethal solution is the only solution," said David Carroll, county director of sustainability. "In fact, we are protecting our own drinking water."
Bowhunting, which began in the watershed Sept. 15, also for the first time, will likely reduce the herd by about 200 before the season ends Jan. 31. But more animals must be culled to prevent degradation of the water supply and damage to the habitats of other wildlife, officials said.
Sharpshooters, trained and certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will hunt with rifles in the watershed next month. They will likely take enough deer within a week, officials said.
Carcasses will be donated to Farmers for the Hungry, which provides food to the needy, officials said.
Opponents to bow and firearms hunting have urged the council to manage deer in a more humane manner.
Source: Baltimore Sun
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
ONTARIO NEWS: Deer Population Grows, Longer Season Pondered
Bambi beware.
The Ministry of Natural Resources wants to expand the fall deer hunt season to control the exploding deer population.
In the past decade, herd numbers have increased by as much as 25 per cent in some areas, most notably southwestern Ontario.
Deer are thriving "for a whole bunch of reasons. More favourable winters, habitat changes – old farm fields growing back into young forests – those are just a few," said Christie Curley, a wildlife policy adviser with the ministry.
More deer have meant more road collisions and crop losses. So the ministry wants to have 22 new hunting regions as well as longer hunting periods, said Curley.
"For example, an area that has a two-day season is being expanded to seven days" while one-week seasons would double, Curley said.
But environmental organizations are crying foul.
Annamaria Valastro with the anti-hunting group Peaceful Parks Coalition said she doubts the change will have any effect. "The deer population is not the problem. The hunting population is declining."
Peaceful Parks has petitioned Premier Dalton McGuinty, to halt a proposed cull of whitetail deer in Presqu'ile Provincial Park.
Curley agrees that while Ontario hunter numbers in general have declined, the exact reverse is true of deer hunters.
Ranks of deer hunters have been steadily increasing for the past decade, she said.
Even so, taxidermist Manuel Jan showed muted enthusiasm when told the deer season may be expanding.
At a time when his business should be booming, Jan's little shop, the Mountain Lion Taxidermy Studio on Broadview Ave. just north of Danforth, is struggling.
"It won't increase business.""Nobody wants to spend the money," he said.
"There used to be 45 of us in downtown Toronto, now it's only me.
"You want to go hunting, you have to spend money. It's a luxury. Driving is expensive. The equipment is expensive," he said.
"I used to do 15 to 25 (deer heads) a year. Now it's six or seven."
Source: The Star
The Ministry of Natural Resources wants to expand the fall deer hunt season to control the exploding deer population.
In the past decade, herd numbers have increased by as much as 25 per cent in some areas, most notably southwestern Ontario.
Deer are thriving "for a whole bunch of reasons. More favourable winters, habitat changes – old farm fields growing back into young forests – those are just a few," said Christie Curley, a wildlife policy adviser with the ministry.
More deer have meant more road collisions and crop losses. So the ministry wants to have 22 new hunting regions as well as longer hunting periods, said Curley.
"For example, an area that has a two-day season is being expanded to seven days" while one-week seasons would double, Curley said.
But environmental organizations are crying foul.
Annamaria Valastro with the anti-hunting group Peaceful Parks Coalition said she doubts the change will have any effect. "The deer population is not the problem. The hunting population is declining."
Peaceful Parks has petitioned Premier Dalton McGuinty, to halt a proposed cull of whitetail deer in Presqu'ile Provincial Park.
Curley agrees that while Ontario hunter numbers in general have declined, the exact reverse is true of deer hunters.
Ranks of deer hunters have been steadily increasing for the past decade, she said.
Even so, taxidermist Manuel Jan showed muted enthusiasm when told the deer season may be expanding.
At a time when his business should be booming, Jan's little shop, the Mountain Lion Taxidermy Studio on Broadview Ave. just north of Danforth, is struggling.
"It won't increase business.""Nobody wants to spend the money," he said.
"There used to be 45 of us in downtown Toronto, now it's only me.
"You want to go hunting, you have to spend money. It's a luxury. Driving is expensive. The equipment is expensive," he said.
"I used to do 15 to 25 (deer heads) a year. Now it's six or seven."
Source: The Star
Friday, January 16, 2009
MONTANA NEWS: Helena Deer Cull Expanded
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks commissioners on Thursday agreed to allow Helena police to kill an additional 150 mule deer in the Capital City this winter.
Police Chief Troy McGee said the work will get under way this week or next in central Helena and on the city’s upper and lower west sides. The project will run through March 31.
Two residents offered emotional pleas, asking FWP commissioners to deny the city’s request, but the commission voted unanimously in favor of the project.
Commissioners, however, pointedly noted that city officials should work to reduce impacts on deer habitat from spreading residential development.
“This (problem) just doesn’t happen, doesn’t fall out of the sky,” Chairman Steve Doherty said.
They also reiterated their position that the department’s user-fee funding sources shouldn’t pay to kill deer in areas closed to hunters, and said they were uncomfortable with the department lending the city a truck to transport carcasses.
City Manager Tim Burton couldn’t be reached for comment, but in the past has said the state’s rebounding wildlife population and years of drought have brought more deer into the city. Officials also are working to get legislators to fund new FWP positions to examine urban wildlife and residential development. The city and department also plan to ask lawmakers to set up a state-funded grant program cities can use to help pay for wildlife-control programs.
Helena residents Gretchen Grayum and Alex Dawson asked FWP commissioners to spare the deer.
“You just do it, you kill them,” Grayum said while crying and chastising commissioners for not listening to 80 people who opposed the project in a recent environmental study. Another 106 people wrote supportive comments, but Helenans’ opinion of their hooved neighbors’ fate has been split for several years.
Dawson presented a written plan for transporting the deer out of town and said he would help with the work. As a policy, FWP generally doesn’t allow wildlife to be transported, a measure officials say is a stopgap against the potential spread of disease.
Commissioners seemed ready to wash their hands of the debate. The issue is one for city officials and residents to discuss.
“However they want to do it … we should no longer be involved in it,” Commissioner Willie Doll said. “We should be done with it.”
“It’s not really our job to determine if the hunt is appropriate,” Commissioner Shane Colton agreed. “Our job is to manage the (deer) and determine if the number is reasonable.”
An FWP official noted state law requires commissioners to approve urban wildlife management programs developed by local governments.
Officials eventually plan to draft a program-wide environmental assessment, setting a framework for future deer-control projects in Helena. If that’s approved, in the future city officials would only need to request approval of an annual deer quota.
McGee has ordered six new traps, bringing the city’s total to a dozen. A pair of police officers will use bait to lure the deer into the net-lined, collapsible box traps before killing the animals with a captive bolt gun.
Meat will once again be given to Helena Food Share for distribution to needy families.
Police killed 50 deer in upper east side neighborhoods this fall, in the city’s first lethal deer-control project. They released 35 fawns at the time, but will include young deer in this project.
Police have received a number of requests from private landowners who want deer taken from their property. The city also will be able to set traps at Bill Roberts Golf Course and at Nature Park.
Source: Helena Independent Record
Police Chief Troy McGee said the work will get under way this week or next in central Helena and on the city’s upper and lower west sides. The project will run through March 31.
Two residents offered emotional pleas, asking FWP commissioners to deny the city’s request, but the commission voted unanimously in favor of the project.
Commissioners, however, pointedly noted that city officials should work to reduce impacts on deer habitat from spreading residential development.
“This (problem) just doesn’t happen, doesn’t fall out of the sky,” Chairman Steve Doherty said.
They also reiterated their position that the department’s user-fee funding sources shouldn’t pay to kill deer in areas closed to hunters, and said they were uncomfortable with the department lending the city a truck to transport carcasses.
City Manager Tim Burton couldn’t be reached for comment, but in the past has said the state’s rebounding wildlife population and years of drought have brought more deer into the city. Officials also are working to get legislators to fund new FWP positions to examine urban wildlife and residential development. The city and department also plan to ask lawmakers to set up a state-funded grant program cities can use to help pay for wildlife-control programs.
Helena residents Gretchen Grayum and Alex Dawson asked FWP commissioners to spare the deer.
“You just do it, you kill them,” Grayum said while crying and chastising commissioners for not listening to 80 people who opposed the project in a recent environmental study. Another 106 people wrote supportive comments, but Helenans’ opinion of their hooved neighbors’ fate has been split for several years.
Dawson presented a written plan for transporting the deer out of town and said he would help with the work. As a policy, FWP generally doesn’t allow wildlife to be transported, a measure officials say is a stopgap against the potential spread of disease.
Commissioners seemed ready to wash their hands of the debate. The issue is one for city officials and residents to discuss.
“However they want to do it … we should no longer be involved in it,” Commissioner Willie Doll said. “We should be done with it.”
“It’s not really our job to determine if the hunt is appropriate,” Commissioner Shane Colton agreed. “Our job is to manage the (deer) and determine if the number is reasonable.”
An FWP official noted state law requires commissioners to approve urban wildlife management programs developed by local governments.
Officials eventually plan to draft a program-wide environmental assessment, setting a framework for future deer-control projects in Helena. If that’s approved, in the future city officials would only need to request approval of an annual deer quota.
McGee has ordered six new traps, bringing the city’s total to a dozen. A pair of police officers will use bait to lure the deer into the net-lined, collapsible box traps before killing the animals with a captive bolt gun.
Meat will once again be given to Helena Food Share for distribution to needy families.
Police killed 50 deer in upper east side neighborhoods this fall, in the city’s first lethal deer-control project. They released 35 fawns at the time, but will include young deer in this project.
Police have received a number of requests from private landowners who want deer taken from their property. The city also will be able to set traps at Bill Roberts Golf Course and at Nature Park.
Source: Helena Independent Record
OPINION: What's More Likely To Kill You, A Shark Or A Deer?
Are you more afraid of being killed by a shark or a deer? The answer may surprise you.
There are lots of deer-vehicle collisions every year. Here is some data on fatalities in the United States.
There are also about 10 deaths per year in the U.K. due to deer-vehicle collisions, and I do not have data for Canada, Western Europe, or New Zealand. How does this compare to death by shark?
You are at least 46 times more likely to be killed by a deer than you are by a shark.
There are lots of deer-vehicle collisions every year. Here is some data on fatalities in the United States.
A new study reports that fatalities from vehicle crashes with deer and other animals have more than doubled in the last 15 years. The study cites the overlapping of urban sprawl into deer habitat as a primary reason.
The report by the Highway Loss Data Institute found that 223 people died in animal-vehicle crashes last year, up from 150 in 2000 and 101 in 1993.
Source: Waterfowl and Retriever
There are also about 10 deaths per year in the U.K. due to deer-vehicle collisions, and I do not have data for Canada, Western Europe, or New Zealand. How does this compare to death by shark?
According to the latest figures by the International Shark Attack File, there was only one fatal shark attack in 2007. It took place in New Caledonia in the South Pacific. The mean number of deaths between 2000 and 2007 was 5 a year.
In 2007, there were 50 shark attacks in U.S. waters, compared with 13 in Australia in the same year -- none were fatal.
The big difference between Florida and Australia is that the later has much bigger sharks and therefore more fatal attacks. From 1990 to 2007, Australia had 19 fatal attacks, Florida 4.
But there have only been a total of 56 fatal shark attacks in Australia in the past 50 years, or an average of about 1 a year, says the Australian Shark Attack File.
Source: Reuters
You are at least 46 times more likely to be killed by a deer than you are by a shark.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
SCOTLAND NEWS: Increasing Numbers of Roe Deer Called "A Potential Time Bomb"
ROE deer in Scotland face widespread culls amid concerns that an explosion in numbers around towns and cities is a major threat to motorists, claiming lives and causing millions of pounds of damage.
Extensive planting of new forests in the Scottish lowlands in recent years has provided perfect habitat for the native animal.
Now experts estimate roe deer numbers in Scotland have risen to about 350,000, equivalent to the herds of the better-known red deer roaming the Highlands.
The Deer Commission believes the annual number of road accidents involving deer is around 10,000 with two-thirds caused by the smaller roe. There have been at least two fatalities in the North-east – including Dana-Leigh Trigger, a dental nurse from Banchory in Aberdeenshire – in the last two years.
Across the UK insurance companies estimate they pay out more than £20m for deer-related damage every year.
A major concern now is the growth of roe deer herds around major roads in the central belt. A trial cull of animals has already taken place in Mugdock Country Park, just north of Glasgow, to deal with a roe deer hotspot on the busy A81.
The cull may be extended to other identified hotspots around the M8 motorway, the M80 corridor, the M77 south of Glasgow and the A1 in East Lothian. Other measures under consideration include warning signs for motorists, fences and ensuring trees are not planted close to roads.
Jamie Hammond, the Commission's deer officer for south Scotland, said: "The increasing number of road accidents is becoming a serious safety issue. There have been two fatalities in recent years and many more injuries.
"In the central belt roe are the deer species most involved in accidents and really it is down to luck that there hasn't been a fatality. It's a potential time bomb because there are a huge numbers of deer around roundabouts and hard shoulders."
Roe deer, Britain's second-largest wild mammal after their red cousins, were largely hunted to extinction in the central belt with pockets remaining in the wilder sections of the Borders and further north in the Highlands. But recent Government moves to encourage forestry planting have provided the herds with perfect cover to spread.
One plan, well under way, is to provide an unbroken new forest between Edinburgh and Glasgow. A number of small community woodlands have also been planted around towns and cities in the area.
Hammond said: "We are planting a lot of new woodland which provides them with both food and shelter. Roe deer are very adaptable and move quite quickly into new areas. They are prolific breeders and unless their numbers are managed they can escalate rapidly.
"I doubt that there is 10 square kilometres of the Scottish mainland now that you cannot find roe deer."
The risk of a collision with deer reaches a peak during May when young roe deer are dispersing from the area where they were born. Dr Jochen Langbein, of the Deer Initiative, which is researching deer hotspots, said: "The annual toll of thousands of collisions between vehicles and deer in Scotland alone results not only in numerous human injury accidents and several million pounds in car repair costs, but also presents a very major animal welfare issue.
"Around a third of all deer hit by vehicles survive the initial impact but suffer for prolonged periods at the roadside until a qualified person can attend to dispatch or treat them."
Hugh Claydon, the sustainable forests manager for the Forestry Commission Scotland, said: "Their range is increasing all the time and there has been an increase in road traffic accidents as a result.
"Warning signs at hotspots would be useful as we need to raise awareness that there are more roe deer about. If nothing else, it will get them to slow down, perhaps saving their car from damage and the life of the animal.
"We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that an increase in roe deer is welcome but their numbers do need to be managed."
The trial cull was carried out after a spate of accidents on the A81 from Strathblane to Milngavie. The Deer Commission found roe deer numbers were 10 times those expected. Around 30 animals were shot in the 2007-8 winter and up to 30 more will follow this season.
Hammond said: "Mugdock has shown us that with the right people involved and for the right reasons deer can be managed in this way. This is an area that attracts thousands of visitors every year so culls can be carried out successfully."
Tragic victim of freak crash
Dana-Leigh Trigger was a good driver who had passed her test first time. But the 22-year-old dental hygienist died six months ago when she collided with a roe deer near her home in North-east Scotland and her car swerved into a tree.
The deer jumped out of woodland at the side of the Banchory-Campfield road, which had been newly resurfaced with loose chippings and had a 20mph speed limit. Dana could not avoid a collision even though it was a light summer's evening and her Ford Fiesta left the road and landed on its roof.
It was her niece who found the deer, which had crawled off the road back into the woodland. Dana's father David, a driving instructor, said: "Roe deer are a real menace. We knew there had to be a reason why Dana swerved off the road. Probably 99 times out of a 100 she would have walked away from such a collision but this time she didn't. I'm afraid it was just one of those freak things."
Mr Trigger said he had twice collided with roe deer himself while out driving. "What I did, and what I tell my pupils to do, is keep the car straight. It's better to damage the car rather than people.
"Given the increase in numbers I would be fully supportive of any measures to alert drivers to the danger. Warning signs would be a very good idea so that at least drivers are encouraged to slow down."
Mr Trigger said it was still hard to believe that his youngest daughter had been killed in the accident. "She was the type of girl who touched people's lives. You couldn't find a photo of Dana without a smile on her face."
Source: The Scotsman
Extensive planting of new forests in the Scottish lowlands in recent years has provided perfect habitat for the native animal.
Now experts estimate roe deer numbers in Scotland have risen to about 350,000, equivalent to the herds of the better-known red deer roaming the Highlands.
The Deer Commission believes the annual number of road accidents involving deer is around 10,000 with two-thirds caused by the smaller roe. There have been at least two fatalities in the North-east – including Dana-Leigh Trigger, a dental nurse from Banchory in Aberdeenshire – in the last two years.
Across the UK insurance companies estimate they pay out more than £20m for deer-related damage every year.
A major concern now is the growth of roe deer herds around major roads in the central belt. A trial cull of animals has already taken place in Mugdock Country Park, just north of Glasgow, to deal with a roe deer hotspot on the busy A81.
The cull may be extended to other identified hotspots around the M8 motorway, the M80 corridor, the M77 south of Glasgow and the A1 in East Lothian. Other measures under consideration include warning signs for motorists, fences and ensuring trees are not planted close to roads.
Jamie Hammond, the Commission's deer officer for south Scotland, said: "The increasing number of road accidents is becoming a serious safety issue. There have been two fatalities in recent years and many more injuries.
"In the central belt roe are the deer species most involved in accidents and really it is down to luck that there hasn't been a fatality. It's a potential time bomb because there are a huge numbers of deer around roundabouts and hard shoulders."
Roe deer, Britain's second-largest wild mammal after their red cousins, were largely hunted to extinction in the central belt with pockets remaining in the wilder sections of the Borders and further north in the Highlands. But recent Government moves to encourage forestry planting have provided the herds with perfect cover to spread.
One plan, well under way, is to provide an unbroken new forest between Edinburgh and Glasgow. A number of small community woodlands have also been planted around towns and cities in the area.
Hammond said: "We are planting a lot of new woodland which provides them with both food and shelter. Roe deer are very adaptable and move quite quickly into new areas. They are prolific breeders and unless their numbers are managed they can escalate rapidly.
"I doubt that there is 10 square kilometres of the Scottish mainland now that you cannot find roe deer."
The risk of a collision with deer reaches a peak during May when young roe deer are dispersing from the area where they were born. Dr Jochen Langbein, of the Deer Initiative, which is researching deer hotspots, said: "The annual toll of thousands of collisions between vehicles and deer in Scotland alone results not only in numerous human injury accidents and several million pounds in car repair costs, but also presents a very major animal welfare issue.
"Around a third of all deer hit by vehicles survive the initial impact but suffer for prolonged periods at the roadside until a qualified person can attend to dispatch or treat them."
Hugh Claydon, the sustainable forests manager for the Forestry Commission Scotland, said: "Their range is increasing all the time and there has been an increase in road traffic accidents as a result.
"Warning signs at hotspots would be useful as we need to raise awareness that there are more roe deer about. If nothing else, it will get them to slow down, perhaps saving their car from damage and the life of the animal.
"We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that an increase in roe deer is welcome but their numbers do need to be managed."
The trial cull was carried out after a spate of accidents on the A81 from Strathblane to Milngavie. The Deer Commission found roe deer numbers were 10 times those expected. Around 30 animals were shot in the 2007-8 winter and up to 30 more will follow this season.
Hammond said: "Mugdock has shown us that with the right people involved and for the right reasons deer can be managed in this way. This is an area that attracts thousands of visitors every year so culls can be carried out successfully."
Tragic victim of freak crash
Dana-Leigh Trigger was a good driver who had passed her test first time. But the 22-year-old dental hygienist died six months ago when she collided with a roe deer near her home in North-east Scotland and her car swerved into a tree.
The deer jumped out of woodland at the side of the Banchory-Campfield road, which had been newly resurfaced with loose chippings and had a 20mph speed limit. Dana could not avoid a collision even though it was a light summer's evening and her Ford Fiesta left the road and landed on its roof.
It was her niece who found the deer, which had crawled off the road back into the woodland. Dana's father David, a driving instructor, said: "Roe deer are a real menace. We knew there had to be a reason why Dana swerved off the road. Probably 99 times out of a 100 she would have walked away from such a collision but this time she didn't. I'm afraid it was just one of those freak things."
Mr Trigger said he had twice collided with roe deer himself while out driving. "What I did, and what I tell my pupils to do, is keep the car straight. It's better to damage the car rather than people.
"Given the increase in numbers I would be fully supportive of any measures to alert drivers to the danger. Warning signs would be a very good idea so that at least drivers are encouraged to slow down."
Mr Trigger said it was still hard to believe that his youngest daughter had been killed in the accident. "She was the type of girl who touched people's lives. You couldn't find a photo of Dana without a smile on her face."
Source: The Scotsman
UK NEWS: Deer-Vehicle Crashes Rise Threefold in Seven Years, Calls for Deer Cull Follow
A major cull of deer numbers needs to be carried out to cut road accidents, according to the group that manages Ashdown Forest.
In 2000 rangers attended 100 collisions involving deer compared to 266 in 2008, despite having fewer staff in 2008.
Dr Hew Prendergast, Clerk to Conservators of Ashdown Forest said a cull was the only viable option.
Trevor Weeks, of East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service, said speeding motorists were the problem.
The area of heath and woodland on the Kent and Sussex border was established 900 years ago for deer hunting.
It now has several thousand Fallow Deer, about two dozen Roe Deer, large numbers of Muntjac and a small herd of Sika.
Dr Hew Prendergast said in 2007 there were 311 road crashes involving deer in the forest and the figure for 2008 was only lower because they had 25% fewer staff and were therefore able to attend fewer incidents.
He added: "The damage the deer are doing in the countryside and the numbers of casualties there are on the roads mean that something must be done.
"The logistics of fencing off all the roads are impossible really to consider so a reduction of the population as a whole needs to be done."
It has also been said that a cull would provide fresh venison for the local economy.
Phil Miles, of Godmersham Game butchers in Canterbury, said: "If you can source everything locally it produces income and economy for the local areas.
"You cut down your disease problems because you are not transporting carcasses or live animals everywhere.
"It's always been there but it's been too easy to go and buy stuff from the supermarket."
Wildlife welfare campaigner Mr Weeks said his organisation was currently treating a deer that had been injured in a road crash at its centre in Uckfield.
He added: "I would be opposed to a cull. It's not the deers' fault, its the drivers who drive too fast and don't change their speed to the conditions of the road.
"The price of venison has decreased so it would not sell very well. With the credit crunch should the tax payer be paying for a cull of deer."
Source: BBC
In 2000 rangers attended 100 collisions involving deer compared to 266 in 2008, despite having fewer staff in 2008.
Dr Hew Prendergast, Clerk to Conservators of Ashdown Forest said a cull was the only viable option.
Trevor Weeks, of East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service, said speeding motorists were the problem.
The area of heath and woodland on the Kent and Sussex border was established 900 years ago for deer hunting.
It now has several thousand Fallow Deer, about two dozen Roe Deer, large numbers of Muntjac and a small herd of Sika.
Dr Hew Prendergast said in 2007 there were 311 road crashes involving deer in the forest and the figure for 2008 was only lower because they had 25% fewer staff and were therefore able to attend fewer incidents.
He added: "The damage the deer are doing in the countryside and the numbers of casualties there are on the roads mean that something must be done.
"The logistics of fencing off all the roads are impossible really to consider so a reduction of the population as a whole needs to be done."
It has also been said that a cull would provide fresh venison for the local economy.
Phil Miles, of Godmersham Game butchers in Canterbury, said: "If you can source everything locally it produces income and economy for the local areas.
"You cut down your disease problems because you are not transporting carcasses or live animals everywhere.
"It's always been there but it's been too easy to go and buy stuff from the supermarket."
Wildlife welfare campaigner Mr Weeks said his organisation was currently treating a deer that had been injured in a road crash at its centre in Uckfield.
He added: "I would be opposed to a cull. It's not the deers' fault, its the drivers who drive too fast and don't change their speed to the conditions of the road.
"The price of venison has decreased so it would not sell very well. With the credit crunch should the tax payer be paying for a cull of deer."
Source: BBC
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