In a finding that suggests how global warming could impact infectious disease, scientists from Yale University, in collaboration with other institutions, have determined that climate impacts the severity of Lyme Disease by influencing the feeding patterns of deer ticks that carry and transmit it.
Deer ticks live for two years and have three stages of life – larval, nymphal and adult. They obtain one blood meal during each stage in order to survive. If the source of the first meal (a mouse, bird or other small animal) is infected with the bacterium that causes Lyme Disease, the tick also becomes infected and passes it on to its next meal source – be it wildlife or human – in its second life stage as a nymph.
But, as the Yale team demonstrates, it’s the seasonal cycle of feeding for each stage of the tick’s life that determines the severity of infection in a given region. The researchers found that this cycle is heavily influenced by climate. In the moderate climate of the Northeastern United States, larval deer ticks feed in the late summer, long after the spring feeding of infected nymphs. This long gap between feeding times directly correlates to more cases of Lyme Disease reported in the Northeast, say the scientists.
“When there is a longer gap, the most persistent infections are more likely to survive,” explains Durland Fish, Professor of Epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health and corresponding author of the study. “These persistent bacterial strains cause more severe disease in humans, leading more people to seek medical attention and resulting in more case reports.”
But in the Midwest, where there are greater extremes of temperature, there is a shorter window of opportunity for tick feeding, and therefore a shorter gap between nymphal and larval feedings. Because of this, report the scientists, Midwestern wildlife and ticks are infected with less persistent strains, which correlates with fewer cases of Lyme Disease reported in the Midwest.
The clear implication of this research, say the researchers, is that, as the planet warms, the Upper Midwest could find itself in the same situation as the Northeast: longer gaps between nymphal and larval feeding, and therefore, stronger, more persistent strains of Lyme Disease.
“Other diseases, such as malaria, have been projected to expand in response to climate change,” explains project leader Maria Diuk-Wasser, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health and senior author, “But this is the first study to show how the severity of disease can also be related to climate.”
Source: ScienceDaily
Monday, April 27, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS: Lyme Disease Cases Rise 80%
Areas of the Seacoast continue to have the highest number of Lyme disease cases in the state, recent data shows, and health officials are warning people to use caution as the warm weather starts to draw out ticks.
There were 1,590 reported cases of Lyme disease statewide in 2008 — an 80 percent increase from 2007 and a 600 percent increase from 2004, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
The highest number of cases was in Rockingham County, with 653 reported in 2008 — a 70 percent increase over the previous year. Hillsborough County and Strafford County had the second- and third-highest concentration of cases, respectively.
Across the border in Maine, southern York County has had the highest concentration of Lyme disease cases in the state in the last few years, said state Epidemiologist Dr. Kathleen Gensheimer.
A recent change to the government's definition of Lyme disease, making it more inclusive, is partly responsible for the increases, according to New Hampshire Public Health Director Jose Montero.
Suburban sprawl and people spending more time outdoors could also be factors, he said.
Gensheimer added that increased deer populations may also be responsible seeing how ticks feed off deer along with mice, birds, opossums, raccoons, dogs, cats, livestock and humans.
A New Hampshire DHHS survey last year found more than half the ticks in Rockingham and Strafford counties had Lyme disease. Results of a similar study will be released in the coming weeks, Montero said.
"We want people to know this disease can be serious, but can be preventable by avoiding being bitten," he said.
The greatest risk for Lyme disease is between May and August, when the black-legged tick, also known as a deer tick, is in the juvenile stage. The insect is the size of a poppy seed and very difficult to detect. Individuals are often unaware they have been bitten.
Source: Fosters Daily
There were 1,590 reported cases of Lyme disease statewide in 2008 — an 80 percent increase from 2007 and a 600 percent increase from 2004, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
The highest number of cases was in Rockingham County, with 653 reported in 2008 — a 70 percent increase over the previous year. Hillsborough County and Strafford County had the second- and third-highest concentration of cases, respectively.
Across the border in Maine, southern York County has had the highest concentration of Lyme disease cases in the state in the last few years, said state Epidemiologist Dr. Kathleen Gensheimer.
A recent change to the government's definition of Lyme disease, making it more inclusive, is partly responsible for the increases, according to New Hampshire Public Health Director Jose Montero.
Suburban sprawl and people spending more time outdoors could also be factors, he said.
Gensheimer added that increased deer populations may also be responsible seeing how ticks feed off deer along with mice, birds, opossums, raccoons, dogs, cats, livestock and humans.
A New Hampshire DHHS survey last year found more than half the ticks in Rockingham and Strafford counties had Lyme disease. Results of a similar study will be released in the coming weeks, Montero said.
"We want people to know this disease can be serious, but can be preventable by avoiding being bitten," he said.
The greatest risk for Lyme disease is between May and August, when the black-legged tick, also known as a deer tick, is in the juvenile stage. The insect is the size of a poppy seed and very difficult to detect. Individuals are often unaware they have been bitten.
Source: Fosters Daily
SOUTH DAKOTA NEWS: Jury Still Out On Effectiveness of Reflectors
An experiment to reduce the number of deer-vehicle collisions along Interstate 90 near Mitchell is now in its second year, but officials involved with the project say they have yet to see a major change in the number of accidents.
“It’s still kind of inconclusive yet as far as whether it’s a real benefit,” said Jeff Gustafson, the Mitchell region operations engineer for the South Dakota Department of Transportation. “Hopefully, the benefit will pay off in the long run.”
In September 2007, long lines of reflectors were placed along three stretches of I-90, including two segments near Mitchell and Mount Vernon and another near Sioux Falls.
The devices are manufactured to reflect light from a vehicle’s headlights into the eyes of a deer and discourage the animal from attempting to cross a road. Gustafson said the three areas in eastern South Dakota were selected for the project because of their high rate of deer-vehicle collisions.
After purchasing and installing the reflectors, the DOT released an analysis on the reflectors’ effectiveness a year later. While the study did show that reported deer-vehicle collisions in the three areas were down from 49 between October 2006 and September 2007 to 37 a year later, the number of dead deer removed from the areas rose, from 154 to 161.
The report said the reduction in reported accidents meant a return on an initial investment of $88,751, but Gustafson said the results aren’t enough to proclaim the program a success.
“We will ... keep analyzing the data, but we will probably not be putting any new ones up in any new locations until we verify that this is a good program or worth (the) money,” Gustafson said.
Art Smith, wildlife damage management program administrator for the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks, said he personally doesn’t believe the reflectors have been successful.
With no official scientific control – an area with similar conditions that does not have reflectors, for example – Smith said it’s difficult to determine what kind of difference, if any, the reflectors are making.
Smith said the reflectors have three inherent problems:
– They’re difficult to keep clean and at a proper angle;
– there’s no proof that light deters animal movements;
– and the idea that reflectors can affect animal behavior is, according to Smith, an “iffy proposition at best.”
Instead of the reflectors, Smith said he’d like to see a system that uses a roadside beam that, when broken, would set off a flashing yellow light to alert the driver.
“I am more inclined to believe that we have a better chance at affecting driver behavior rather than wild animal behavior,” Smith said. “We’ll never eliminate (accidents), but maybe we can reduce them”
Both Smith and Gustafson admit there’s no money in the budget for such a device right now. In the meantime, they intend to keep an eye on future results and hope scientific evidence will give an accurate reading on the reflectors’ effects.
“Hopefully, the benefit will pay off in the long run,” Gustafson said.
Source: Argus Leader
“It’s still kind of inconclusive yet as far as whether it’s a real benefit,” said Jeff Gustafson, the Mitchell region operations engineer for the South Dakota Department of Transportation. “Hopefully, the benefit will pay off in the long run.”
In September 2007, long lines of reflectors were placed along three stretches of I-90, including two segments near Mitchell and Mount Vernon and another near Sioux Falls.
The devices are manufactured to reflect light from a vehicle’s headlights into the eyes of a deer and discourage the animal from attempting to cross a road. Gustafson said the three areas in eastern South Dakota were selected for the project because of their high rate of deer-vehicle collisions.
After purchasing and installing the reflectors, the DOT released an analysis on the reflectors’ effectiveness a year later. While the study did show that reported deer-vehicle collisions in the three areas were down from 49 between October 2006 and September 2007 to 37 a year later, the number of dead deer removed from the areas rose, from 154 to 161.
The report said the reduction in reported accidents meant a return on an initial investment of $88,751, but Gustafson said the results aren’t enough to proclaim the program a success.
“We will ... keep analyzing the data, but we will probably not be putting any new ones up in any new locations until we verify that this is a good program or worth (the) money,” Gustafson said.
Art Smith, wildlife damage management program administrator for the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks, said he personally doesn’t believe the reflectors have been successful.
With no official scientific control – an area with similar conditions that does not have reflectors, for example – Smith said it’s difficult to determine what kind of difference, if any, the reflectors are making.
Smith said the reflectors have three inherent problems:
– They’re difficult to keep clean and at a proper angle;
– there’s no proof that light deters animal movements;
– and the idea that reflectors can affect animal behavior is, according to Smith, an “iffy proposition at best.”
Instead of the reflectors, Smith said he’d like to see a system that uses a roadside beam that, when broken, would set off a flashing yellow light to alert the driver.
“I am more inclined to believe that we have a better chance at affecting driver behavior rather than wild animal behavior,” Smith said. “We’ll never eliminate (accidents), but maybe we can reduce them”
Both Smith and Gustafson admit there’s no money in the budget for such a device right now. In the meantime, they intend to keep an eye on future results and hope scientific evidence will give an accurate reading on the reflectors’ effects.
“Hopefully, the benefit will pay off in the long run,” Gustafson said.
Source: Argus Leader
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
GUAM NEWS: Special Hunt to Combat Overabundant Deer
I had no idea there were deer in Guam. Shows what I know...
The Department of Agriculture is offering a special unlimited deal for deer hunters starting tomorrow, April 15.
The agency notes this year's seasonal hunting of local deer can only take place on Government of Guam property or private property with the owner's permission. Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources Biologist Jeff Quitugua says they have opened up the unlimited either-sex deer hunt because the agency is trying to control the deer and feral pig population. So far, he mentions that the animals have been destroying natural habitats that are supposed to regenerate indigenous plants and vegetation.
No exact data has been released on the current population of these local animals. In the meantime, Quitugua also says hunting licenses and deer tags are required to participate in this hunting season. Anyone interested is asked to contact the Department of Agriculture. Again, the unlimited deer hunt starts tomorrow, April 15 and ends September 30.
Source: Pacific News Center
The Department of Agriculture is offering a special unlimited deal for deer hunters starting tomorrow, April 15.
The agency notes this year's seasonal hunting of local deer can only take place on Government of Guam property or private property with the owner's permission. Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources Biologist Jeff Quitugua says they have opened up the unlimited either-sex deer hunt because the agency is trying to control the deer and feral pig population. So far, he mentions that the animals have been destroying natural habitats that are supposed to regenerate indigenous plants and vegetation.
No exact data has been released on the current population of these local animals. In the meantime, Quitugua also says hunting licenses and deer tags are required to participate in this hunting season. Anyone interested is asked to contact the Department of Agriculture. Again, the unlimited deer hunt starts tomorrow, April 15 and ends September 30.
Source: Pacific News Center
Monday, April 13, 2009
NEBRASKA NEWS: TB Found in Captive Elk / Fallow Deer Herd
According to Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) State Veterinarian Dr. Dennis Hughes, NDA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarians have discovered a herd of captive elk and fallow deer in the Knox County area that have tested positive for Tuberculosis (TB). NDA has authority over captive cervid herds in the state.
According to Dr. Hughes, NDA and USDA are currently in the process of working with the producer who has been cooperating with the two agencies. The herd, which is currently under quarantine, is eligible for depopulation and indemnification in accordance with USDA guidelines.
"The area where these animals are kept is fairly remote and there is no direct contact with any livestock," said Dr. Hughes. "NDA is coordinating with the Nebraska Game and Parks authorities on the situation, and they will be taking appropriate next steps regarding the wild cervid population in the area."
TB is a slow, progressive disease and is difficult to diagnose in the early stages; however, as the disease progresses animals can exhibit emaciation, lethargy, weakness, anorexia, low-grade fever and pneumonia with a chronic, moist cough.
Source: Nebraska Dept. Agriculture
According to Dr. Hughes, NDA and USDA are currently in the process of working with the producer who has been cooperating with the two agencies. The herd, which is currently under quarantine, is eligible for depopulation and indemnification in accordance with USDA guidelines.
"The area where these animals are kept is fairly remote and there is no direct contact with any livestock," said Dr. Hughes. "NDA is coordinating with the Nebraska Game and Parks authorities on the situation, and they will be taking appropriate next steps regarding the wild cervid population in the area."
TB is a slow, progressive disease and is difficult to diagnose in the early stages; however, as the disease progresses animals can exhibit emaciation, lethargy, weakness, anorexia, low-grade fever and pneumonia with a chronic, moist cough.
Source: Nebraska Dept. Agriculture
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
MARYLAND/DC/VIRGINIA NEWS: Lyme Disease On Rise
A story in today's Washington Post highlights a rather alarming rise in confirmed Lyme Disease cases. Between 2005 and 2007:
The number of cases in Washington DC rose from 10 to 116.
The number of cases in Virginia rose from 274 to 959.
The number of cases in Maryland rose from 1235 to 2576.
Source: Washington Post
The number of cases in Washington DC rose from 10 to 116.
The number of cases in Virginia rose from 274 to 959.
The number of cases in Maryland rose from 1235 to 2576.
"The adult ticks prefer to feed on deer, which are immune to the disease," Mead said. "Deer are the adult mating bars for black-legged ticks. That's where they like to meet their mates, and then they drop off to lay their eggs."
The spread of infected ticks in the Washington region has been dramatic as more farmland has been developed and deer have become ever more common roaming through back yards and parks.
Source: Washington Post
Monday, March 30, 2009
VIRGINIA NEWS: Wytheville Struggles with Deer Population
Wytheville’s deer population has been reduced since mid-February. It is expected to decline even more by the end of March.
According to Col. Harry Ayers of the Wytheville Police Department, approximately 46 deer have been shot and killed within the town limits since the town obtained a special permit from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. State authorization began in mid-February and continues through March 31.
Complaints from Wytheville residents about problems caused by the increasing deer population prompted Wytheville Town Council to take action last summer. Citizens reported giving up their gardens because of crop damage by deer and others complained about deer damage to their flowers and trees.
Council authorized the town’s director of public safety Albert Newberry to obtain a state permit to kill the deer.
Newberry coordinated the effort with the town’s animal control officer Bill Scott. Scott is being accompanied by a town policeman or a paid town fireman on the evening hunts across Wytheville.
Under the cover of night and armed with a silencer-equipped rifle, Scott stakes out areas of town where there is a large deer population. He takes his shots and moves to another location.
“Even with a silencer,” Col. Ayers noted, “when you shoot one deer the shot scares the others off. That’s why you have to move on to another spot.”
The dead deer, Ayers said, are picked up where they’re killed. The carcasses are taken to the Wythe-Bland Joint Public Service Authority’s transfer station, the colonel stated.
A spokesman for the transfer station confirmed the deer carcasses are put in the trailer with the rest of the trash. She said they are taken to Johnson City, Tenn., for burial.
“We were going to give the meat to the Hunters for the Hungry,” Col. Ayers said, “but the cost of field dressing the deer and hauling it made it impossible for us to do.”
According to Col. Ayers, there have been a few complaints about shooting the deer. The harvest, he said, is being conducted late at night and as far away from homes as possible.
“We’ve had one or two complaints,” he said.
While Ayers said the deer harvesting has eased problems somewhat, he expects another permit will be needed. Ayers pointed out February and March are best times to eliminate the deer.
“Getting rid of the deer is not going to happen in one year,” he said. “Deer continues to be a problem. We’ve lost two police cars to deer and we averaged three deer-related accidents a week for awhile earlier this year.”
Ayers blames the increased deer population on the lack of hunters, more posted land and no natural predators of deer. He also noted Wytheville is surrounded by mountains with the deer roaming into various subdivisions looking for food.
Source: WSLS10
According to Col. Harry Ayers of the Wytheville Police Department, approximately 46 deer have been shot and killed within the town limits since the town obtained a special permit from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. State authorization began in mid-February and continues through March 31.
Complaints from Wytheville residents about problems caused by the increasing deer population prompted Wytheville Town Council to take action last summer. Citizens reported giving up their gardens because of crop damage by deer and others complained about deer damage to their flowers and trees.
Council authorized the town’s director of public safety Albert Newberry to obtain a state permit to kill the deer.
Newberry coordinated the effort with the town’s animal control officer Bill Scott. Scott is being accompanied by a town policeman or a paid town fireman on the evening hunts across Wytheville.
Under the cover of night and armed with a silencer-equipped rifle, Scott stakes out areas of town where there is a large deer population. He takes his shots and moves to another location.
“Even with a silencer,” Col. Ayers noted, “when you shoot one deer the shot scares the others off. That’s why you have to move on to another spot.”
The dead deer, Ayers said, are picked up where they’re killed. The carcasses are taken to the Wythe-Bland Joint Public Service Authority’s transfer station, the colonel stated.
A spokesman for the transfer station confirmed the deer carcasses are put in the trailer with the rest of the trash. She said they are taken to Johnson City, Tenn., for burial.
“We were going to give the meat to the Hunters for the Hungry,” Col. Ayers said, “but the cost of field dressing the deer and hauling it made it impossible for us to do.”
According to Col. Ayers, there have been a few complaints about shooting the deer. The harvest, he said, is being conducted late at night and as far away from homes as possible.
“We’ve had one or two complaints,” he said.
While Ayers said the deer harvesting has eased problems somewhat, he expects another permit will be needed. Ayers pointed out February and March are best times to eliminate the deer.
“Getting rid of the deer is not going to happen in one year,” he said. “Deer continues to be a problem. We’ve lost two police cars to deer and we averaged three deer-related accidents a week for awhile earlier this year.”
Ayers blames the increased deer population on the lack of hunters, more posted land and no natural predators of deer. He also noted Wytheville is surrounded by mountains with the deer roaming into various subdivisions looking for food.
Source: WSLS10
Thursday, March 26, 2009
VIRGINIA NEWS: Record Deer Harvest in 2008
A record 253,678 deer were checked in by hunters in Virginia in 2008, topping 242,792 deer reported killed last year and 16 percent higher than the average of 212,780 deer killed by hunters over the last decade. This number should go even higher once deer taken during the late urban archery or special late antlerless-only deer seasons are tabulated.
Deer take is up in all regions and especially higher in the Tidewater, which notched an 8 percent increase. Overall, 111,863 antlered bucks, 22,291 button bucks and 119,524 does were recorded. Does made up 47.3 percent of the overall harvest.
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries provided a breakout of the deer kill by season. Archers, not including crossbow hunters, killed 17,881 deer, or 7 percent of the total. Crossbow hunters took 9,597 deer or 4 percent of the total. Muzzleloader hunters killed 57,038 deer, which equates to 22 percent of the total deer harvest.
The telephone and Internet checking systems have been seeing about a 4 percent increase in use since 2004-05, and this past season saw 160,000 deer (or 63 percent of the total) checked this way.
Virginia's deer management plan emphasizes taking does as a means of stabilizing herd populations. Female deer kill numbers have been at record levels for the past six years and, for the past two deer seasons, the overall harvest increases have come from antlerless deer.
Beyond having liberal antlerless bag limits and emphasizing the need for doe harvest, programs such as the "Earn a Buck" regulation require hunters to kill antlerless deer before taking an antlered buck in some localities. Below is a table depicting harvest trends in the Fredericksburg region.
Source: Fredericksburg.com
Deer take is up in all regions and especially higher in the Tidewater, which notched an 8 percent increase. Overall, 111,863 antlered bucks, 22,291 button bucks and 119,524 does were recorded. Does made up 47.3 percent of the overall harvest.
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries provided a breakout of the deer kill by season. Archers, not including crossbow hunters, killed 17,881 deer, or 7 percent of the total. Crossbow hunters took 9,597 deer or 4 percent of the total. Muzzleloader hunters killed 57,038 deer, which equates to 22 percent of the total deer harvest.
The telephone and Internet checking systems have been seeing about a 4 percent increase in use since 2004-05, and this past season saw 160,000 deer (or 63 percent of the total) checked this way.
Virginia's deer management plan emphasizes taking does as a means of stabilizing herd populations. Female deer kill numbers have been at record levels for the past six years and, for the past two deer seasons, the overall harvest increases have come from antlerless deer.
Beyond having liberal antlerless bag limits and emphasizing the need for doe harvest, programs such as the "Earn a Buck" regulation require hunters to kill antlerless deer before taking an antlered buck in some localities. Below is a table depicting harvest trends in the Fredericksburg region.
Source: Fredericksburg.com
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
VIRGINIA NEWS: So Where Did All Of Those Deer Come From?
Virginia’s suburbanites and farmers often complain about the number of deer in the road and in the crops, but nobody knows where all those deer came from. Radford University biology professor Bob Sheehy aims to find out.
Naturally, he’s asking his students to help him with the task.
Sheehy is using his genetics class and the 35 students in it to examine the DNA of Virginia’s deer population in hopes of tracing its varied roots. He has also put hunters to work gathering slivers of deer DNA for the students to scrutinize.
What makes the result of the research likely to be intriguing is that much of Virginia’s deer population can be traced to other states: deer all but disappeared from western Virginia at the beginning of the 20th century, prompting the state to bring in deer from elsewhere.
Thirteen deer from West Virginia, for instance, were released in Rockingham County in 1926. Ten deer from North Carolina were let go in Washington County in 1930 and 1931. And, as the program expanded, hundreds more were released in counties west of the Blue Ridge from Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in the following decades.
Altogether, one academic count showed, nearly 2,800 deer were brought to Virginia from other states by 1970, successfully restoring deer to the state.
Now, Sheehy and his students hope to learn how the populations have mingled — if they have — and if they have migrated. Beyond the basic scientific understanding, Sheehy said, is the hands-on knowledge of DNA that students will get from analyzing fingernail-size pieces of deer.
“I’m always trying to find ways to introduce students to genetic variability at the molecular level,“ Sheehy said. “They often find it obtuse. I thought using deer would be great because there’s a ready supply of deer.“
One student who said he is getting a lot out of the project is Jon Hirst, a 22-year-old junior and a graduate of Thomas Dale High School in Chester. “I’ve actually learned a lot more in the lab than in the lectures. It’s showing you rather than telling you about it. And Professor Sheehy is very excited about genetics.“
Sheehy said he hopes to receive samples of DNA from the states that sent deer to Virginia so his students can determine the basic genetic markers — the stuff that makes them unique — of each population. Then, year after year, new classes of students will participate in the project, building a database of deer DNA from throughout Virginia.
“This is real research for the students,“ Sheehy said, “and somebody will use the data further down the line.“
Source: Lynchburg News Advance
Naturally, he’s asking his students to help him with the task.
Sheehy is using his genetics class and the 35 students in it to examine the DNA of Virginia’s deer population in hopes of tracing its varied roots. He has also put hunters to work gathering slivers of deer DNA for the students to scrutinize.
What makes the result of the research likely to be intriguing is that much of Virginia’s deer population can be traced to other states: deer all but disappeared from western Virginia at the beginning of the 20th century, prompting the state to bring in deer from elsewhere.
Thirteen deer from West Virginia, for instance, were released in Rockingham County in 1926. Ten deer from North Carolina were let go in Washington County in 1930 and 1931. And, as the program expanded, hundreds more were released in counties west of the Blue Ridge from Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in the following decades.
Altogether, one academic count showed, nearly 2,800 deer were brought to Virginia from other states by 1970, successfully restoring deer to the state.
Now, Sheehy and his students hope to learn how the populations have mingled — if they have — and if they have migrated. Beyond the basic scientific understanding, Sheehy said, is the hands-on knowledge of DNA that students will get from analyzing fingernail-size pieces of deer.
“I’m always trying to find ways to introduce students to genetic variability at the molecular level,“ Sheehy said. “They often find it obtuse. I thought using deer would be great because there’s a ready supply of deer.“
One student who said he is getting a lot out of the project is Jon Hirst, a 22-year-old junior and a graduate of Thomas Dale High School in Chester. “I’ve actually learned a lot more in the lab than in the lectures. It’s showing you rather than telling you about it. And Professor Sheehy is very excited about genetics.“
Sheehy said he hopes to receive samples of DNA from the states that sent deer to Virginia so his students can determine the basic genetic markers — the stuff that makes them unique — of each population. Then, year after year, new classes of students will participate in the project, building a database of deer DNA from throughout Virginia.
“This is real research for the students,“ Sheehy said, “and somebody will use the data further down the line.“
Source: Lynchburg News Advance
NEW JERSEY NEWS: Morris Township Cull Nets 178 Deer
Volunteer hunters killed 178 deer during a recently completed herd-thinning program held in a northern New Jersey town.
Morris Township officials wouldn't disclose the specific locations where the hunts were held, saying only that they occurred in open fields and near residential areas. They say no problems were reported.
The culling, which took place between November and February, was done by 25 volunteers armed with bows and arrows. Township officials told The Daily Record of Parsippany that 150 of the deer were female _ including 14 fawns _ and 28 were male.
This was the fourth year that hunts were staged in the township, which has always used volunteers.
Source: Newsday
Morris Township officials wouldn't disclose the specific locations where the hunts were held, saying only that they occurred in open fields and near residential areas. They say no problems were reported.
The culling, which took place between November and February, was done by 25 volunteers armed with bows and arrows. Township officials told The Daily Record of Parsippany that 150 of the deer were female _ including 14 fawns _ and 28 were male.
This was the fourth year that hunts were staged in the township, which has always used volunteers.
Source: Newsday
Thursday, March 19, 2009
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: Deer Harvest Up Slightly in 2008
Pennsylvania hunters bagged about 336,000 deer during the most recent hunting seasons, an increase of about 4 percent over the previous year.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission said Wednesday that in many parts of the state, the antlerless deer harvest dropped in 2008-09, while the overall antlered harvest was generally on par with the previous five years.
The agency is studying the effect of its split deer-hunting season.
The total for the 2007-08 seasons was about 324,000. The year before that it was about 362,000, while it was about 354,000 in 2005-06 and about 409,000 four years ago.
Source: Seattle Times
The Pennsylvania Game Commission said Wednesday that in many parts of the state, the antlerless deer harvest dropped in 2008-09, while the overall antlered harvest was generally on par with the previous five years.
The agency is studying the effect of its split deer-hunting season.
The total for the 2007-08 seasons was about 324,000. The year before that it was about 362,000, while it was about 354,000 in 2005-06 and about 409,000 four years ago.
Source: Seattle Times
Friday, March 13, 2009
WISCONSIN NEWS: Another Municipality Struggles with Deer
City officials in Onalaska are trying to figure out a way to control a booming deer population.
The public had another chance to give their thoughts on the issue Wednesday night. City officials say most people who responded to a recent survey agree something needs to be done to control the number of deer in Onalaska.
Now they have to figure out a way to go about it.
"It appears most people would rather see an archery type hunt, but the parameters of that still has to be figured out," says Joe Barstow, the GIS technician and erosion control inspector for the city of Onalaska.
Some onalaska residents still have questions they want answered before anything is finalized.
"Our concern is that there isnt' a wholesale slaughter of deer, that they maintain property rights, that people don't hunt deer on individual properties and that there's a long term solution, not just like a quick fix type solution," says Michael Strasser, a resident who attended the meeting Wednesday.
If all goes as planned, city officials would like to start a managed hunt by the middle of this fall.
Source: WKBT
The public had another chance to give their thoughts on the issue Wednesday night. City officials say most people who responded to a recent survey agree something needs to be done to control the number of deer in Onalaska.
Now they have to figure out a way to go about it.
"It appears most people would rather see an archery type hunt, but the parameters of that still has to be figured out," says Joe Barstow, the GIS technician and erosion control inspector for the city of Onalaska.
Some onalaska residents still have questions they want answered before anything is finalized.
"Our concern is that there isnt' a wholesale slaughter of deer, that they maintain property rights, that people don't hunt deer on individual properties and that there's a long term solution, not just like a quick fix type solution," says Michael Strasser, a resident who attended the meeting Wednesday.
If all goes as planned, city officials would like to start a managed hunt by the middle of this fall.
Source: WKBT
Monday, March 09, 2009
KANSAS NEWS: Controlled Hunt Proposed for Shawnee Mission Park
A state representative from Eudora has sponsored a bill to create two special bow-hunting seasons to cull the exploding deer population at Shawnee Mission Park in Johnson County.
Republican Anthony Brown wants to allow archers into the 1,280-acre park for nine days in October and nine days in January to shoot deer in a controlled hunt.
The goal of House Bill 2342, he said, is to cull 400 deer from a herd that wildlife officials say is at least eight times larger than the park can support. Any animals not harvested in that time would be killed by sharpshooters, Brown said.
A hearing on the bill is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
Overpopulation can be dangerous to the health of the deer, people and the park’s ecosystem, experts say. Supporters of controlled hunts say they are done successfully in the area.
Critics say arrows are cruel and inhumane. They are pleading for a less “barbaric” solution that could involve relocation, sterilization or contraception.
Hunting is not allowed in the park, and any controlled hunt would require a change in state legislation.
“With 200 deer per square mile, this is causing a problem,” Brown said.
Brown estimated that it costs $300 per deer to hire a qualified sniper, $400 per deer to trap and relocate each animal and up to $700 to sterilize a deer.
“These options, given the number of animals in the park and the current economic climate, are not viable,” he said.
Brown’s efforts came as a surprise to county parks Director Michael Meadors.
“Everybody’s wanting to rush in and do something,” Meadors said. “Our caution has been … to slow down, take a step back, gather as much information as we can, but to make sure the process is as transparent as possible and includes the public.”
Meadors said a draft deer-management plan will be given to the park board in April. Public hearings will be held in May before the board decides the fate of the deer, he said.
Meanwhile, after months of debate, the St. Louis suburb of Town and Country, Mo., last month approved a plan to kill deer and sterilize does.
Deer overpopulation has long been a problem there, and officials agreed to hire a firm to bring in sharpshooters to kill some of the animals, starting this fall. The sterilizati0on effort has begun but is expected to take years to become effective.
Source: Kansas City Star
Republican Anthony Brown wants to allow archers into the 1,280-acre park for nine days in October and nine days in January to shoot deer in a controlled hunt.
The goal of House Bill 2342, he said, is to cull 400 deer from a herd that wildlife officials say is at least eight times larger than the park can support. Any animals not harvested in that time would be killed by sharpshooters, Brown said.
A hearing on the bill is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
Overpopulation can be dangerous to the health of the deer, people and the park’s ecosystem, experts say. Supporters of controlled hunts say they are done successfully in the area.
Critics say arrows are cruel and inhumane. They are pleading for a less “barbaric” solution that could involve relocation, sterilization or contraception.
Hunting is not allowed in the park, and any controlled hunt would require a change in state legislation.
“With 200 deer per square mile, this is causing a problem,” Brown said.
Brown estimated that it costs $300 per deer to hire a qualified sniper, $400 per deer to trap and relocate each animal and up to $700 to sterilize a deer.
“These options, given the number of animals in the park and the current economic climate, are not viable,” he said.
Brown’s efforts came as a surprise to county parks Director Michael Meadors.
“Everybody’s wanting to rush in and do something,” Meadors said. “Our caution has been … to slow down, take a step back, gather as much information as we can, but to make sure the process is as transparent as possible and includes the public.”
Meadors said a draft deer-management plan will be given to the park board in April. Public hearings will be held in May before the board decides the fate of the deer, he said.
Meanwhile, after months of debate, the St. Louis suburb of Town and Country, Mo., last month approved a plan to kill deer and sterilize does.
Deer overpopulation has long been a problem there, and officials agreed to hire a firm to bring in sharpshooters to kill some of the animals, starting this fall. The sterilizati0on effort has begun but is expected to take years to become effective.
Source: Kansas City Star
WISCONSIN NEWS: Oshkosh Cull Halted
Attempts to reduce the deer herd in the Vulcan Quarry area are on hold indefinitely.
The city is no longer putting out bait in an attempt to draw the deer into the wooded area near the Oshkosh National Guard Armory, 1415 Armory Place, and a third culling attempt is not planned, Police Chief Scott Greuel said.
He said the factors that played into the city's decision include the limited success the city has seen in the first two attempts, the reduced snow cover and the fact that female deer give birth during the spring.
"The baiting has stopped and no culling is planned," Greuel said.
City-hired sharpshooters with Urban Wildlife Specialists shot six deer on Jan. 30 and Feb. 13. Sharpshooters also made a third attempt to reduce the herd on Feb. 28, but did not fire a shot.
Two other deer were found dead in the area. The state Department of National Resources determined a deer found Feb. 6 died of starvation and preliminary necropsy results indicate a deer found dead on Feb. 14 died from grain overload, which resulted from eating more grain than it could digest.
Source: Appleton Post-Crescent
The city is no longer putting out bait in an attempt to draw the deer into the wooded area near the Oshkosh National Guard Armory, 1415 Armory Place, and a third culling attempt is not planned, Police Chief Scott Greuel said.
He said the factors that played into the city's decision include the limited success the city has seen in the first two attempts, the reduced snow cover and the fact that female deer give birth during the spring.
"The baiting has stopped and no culling is planned," Greuel said.
City-hired sharpshooters with Urban Wildlife Specialists shot six deer on Jan. 30 and Feb. 13. Sharpshooters also made a third attempt to reduce the herd on Feb. 28, but did not fire a shot.
Two other deer were found dead in the area. The state Department of National Resources determined a deer found Feb. 6 died of starvation and preliminary necropsy results indicate a deer found dead on Feb. 14 died from grain overload, which resulted from eating more grain than it could digest.
Source: Appleton Post-Crescent
MAINE NEWS: Lowest Deer Harvest in Decades
After a long winter with record-setting snow packs, Maine 2008 deer harvest was the lowest in decades.
The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says preliminary figures put the deer kill at 21,062, or 27 percent below the 2007 total.
Deer biologist Lee Kantar says deer yarded up on average for 140 days, compared to the normal 84 days. The result was extremely low survival rates for fawns, reflected in a 45 percent decline in the fawn harvest.
Kantar says the current winter looks similar to last year, which could mean a further decrease in any-deer permits and a reduced deer harvest in 2009.
Source: Burlington Free Press
The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife says preliminary figures put the deer kill at 21,062, or 27 percent below the 2007 total.
Deer biologist Lee Kantar says deer yarded up on average for 140 days, compared to the normal 84 days. The result was extremely low survival rates for fawns, reflected in a 45 percent decline in the fawn harvest.
Kantar says the current winter looks similar to last year, which could mean a further decrease in any-deer permits and a reduced deer harvest in 2009.
Source: Burlington Free Press
Friday, March 06, 2009
UTAH NEWS: Another Case of Rising Suburban Deer Populations
Prancing deer in Bountiful are becoming a more common sight, these days.
For some, it reminds them that nature is still close at hand. For others, it means their gardens are eaten up.
“We have had a lot of complaints about the growth of an urban deer herd in Bountiful,” said City Manager Tom Hardy.
He was talking about the city’s critters in relation to approval given by the city council to a five-year contract with Davis County Animal Control Services.
Deer actually fall under jurisdiction of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
“There is no natural predator, only the cold and snow” to deter deer population from growing, Hardy said.
“The population is exploding, and not just on the east bench,” he said. “There is a problem all the way down to the freeway.
“Seven to eight years ago, we had deer hitting cars,” plus the more usual cars hitting deer, he said. “The division thinned the herd, killed several hundred deer.”
The thought of killing deer, obviously, doesn’t come down well with everyone, the city manager said.
“To thin the herd, they (division staff) have to literally go into people’s backyards” and take the deer out.
Source: Clipper Today
For some, it reminds them that nature is still close at hand. For others, it means their gardens are eaten up.
“We have had a lot of complaints about the growth of an urban deer herd in Bountiful,” said City Manager Tom Hardy.
He was talking about the city’s critters in relation to approval given by the city council to a five-year contract with Davis County Animal Control Services.
Deer actually fall under jurisdiction of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
“There is no natural predator, only the cold and snow” to deter deer population from growing, Hardy said.
“The population is exploding, and not just on the east bench,” he said. “There is a problem all the way down to the freeway.
“Seven to eight years ago, we had deer hitting cars,” plus the more usual cars hitting deer, he said. “The division thinned the herd, killed several hundred deer.”
The thought of killing deer, obviously, doesn’t come down well with everyone, the city manager said.
“To thin the herd, they (division staff) have to literally go into people’s backyards” and take the deer out.
Source: Clipper Today
KANSAS NEWS: More CWD Cases Show Up
Five more Kansas white-tailed deer have been confirmed positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD), bringing to eight the total number of CWD incidents from the 2008 Kansas deer seasons.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is still awaiting final lab results on about 100 more tissue samples from hunter-killed deer during the past deer season, according to Shane Hesting, KDWP wildlife disease coordinator. Tissue samples were collected from hunters around the state during the past deer season, as KDWP continued annual sampling begun in 1996 to help track the occurrence of CWD in the state’s wild deer. More than 10,000 tissue samples have undergone lab analysis since annual sampling began.
All eight deer confirmed as CWD-positive were taken by hunters in northwest Kansas. Of the five additional CWD-positive deer confirmed by KDWP this week, two came from Sheridan County, two from Rawlins County, and one from Cheyenne County.
The five newly-reported incidents are in addition to three Decatur County CWD-positive deer documented in early January by KDWP.
CWD has been detected previously in Kansas. During the 2007 season, three Decatur County whitetails were confirmed as CWD-positive. The first occurrence in a wild Kansas deer was a white-tailed doe killed by a Kansas hunter in 2005 in Cheyenne County.
For the full story see: Infozine.com
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks is still awaiting final lab results on about 100 more tissue samples from hunter-killed deer during the past deer season, according to Shane Hesting, KDWP wildlife disease coordinator. Tissue samples were collected from hunters around the state during the past deer season, as KDWP continued annual sampling begun in 1996 to help track the occurrence of CWD in the state’s wild deer. More than 10,000 tissue samples have undergone lab analysis since annual sampling began.
All eight deer confirmed as CWD-positive were taken by hunters in northwest Kansas. Of the five additional CWD-positive deer confirmed by KDWP this week, two came from Sheridan County, two from Rawlins County, and one from Cheyenne County.
The five newly-reported incidents are in addition to three Decatur County CWD-positive deer documented in early January by KDWP.
CWD has been detected previously in Kansas. During the 2007 season, three Decatur County whitetails were confirmed as CWD-positive. The first occurrence in a wild Kansas deer was a white-tailed doe killed by a Kansas hunter in 2005 in Cheyenne County.
For the full story see: Infozine.com
NEW YORK NEWS: Biggest Harvest in Five Years, Harvest Goal Still Missed
Hunters in New York harvested nearly 223,000 deer last year, the state's most bountiful season since 2003, according to numbers released this week by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The deer take in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties increased by 5 percent. The statewide increase was 2 percent.
Orange County posted an especially fruitful hunting season, according to DEC statistics, which showed Orange had the third highest number of bucks killed per square mile of any county in the state. Local hunters said the ranking is not a coincidence; sportsmen in Sullivan and Ulster were restricted to hunting bucks with a minimum of three points on one antler under a program being tested by the state. The restriction did not cover Orange County.
Despite the final tally — which comes from hunters' reports, DEC check stations and meat processors — local hunters said the season was largely a bust.
"The local sportsmen feel they had a poor season," said Carmen Heitczman, president of the Orange County Federation of Sportsman Clubs. "I don't know what formula the DEC is using, but they ought to change it."
Locals said the deer take among their friends and hunting camps was low, citing bad weather (fog and rain tainted opening weekend) and dwindling open land for hunting. The DEC also said the total fell short of the 5 percent to 10 percent kill increase it had hoped for.
For the full article see: Record Online
The deer take in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties increased by 5 percent. The statewide increase was 2 percent.
Orange County posted an especially fruitful hunting season, according to DEC statistics, which showed Orange had the third highest number of bucks killed per square mile of any county in the state. Local hunters said the ranking is not a coincidence; sportsmen in Sullivan and Ulster were restricted to hunting bucks with a minimum of three points on one antler under a program being tested by the state. The restriction did not cover Orange County.
Despite the final tally — which comes from hunters' reports, DEC check stations and meat processors — local hunters said the season was largely a bust.
"The local sportsmen feel they had a poor season," said Carmen Heitczman, president of the Orange County Federation of Sportsman Clubs. "I don't know what formula the DEC is using, but they ought to change it."
Locals said the deer take among their friends and hunting camps was low, citing bad weather (fog and rain tainted opening weekend) and dwindling open land for hunting. The DEC also said the total fell short of the 5 percent to 10 percent kill increase it had hoped for.
For the full article see: Record Online
Monday, March 02, 2009
AUSTRALIA NEWS: Sport hunting Unlikely to Control Deer
The National Parks Association says deer hunters in the New South Wales Illawarra region need to view the pest as an environmental threat rather than a hunting resource.
The state's third annual deer season, which is open to recreational hunters, started yesterday and runs until the end of October.
The association's executive officer Andrew Cox says recreational hunting is not an effective feral animal control because it is too selective.
Mr Cox says while there is some reduction in deer numbers, hunters need to take stronger action.
"With feral animals acting early and with lots of resources is the way to deal with this," he said.
"I think we can act to stop new populations growing, expanding in areas that weren't covered.
"They certainly are well adapted to many of the coastal wet forests of the east coast of New South Wales."
Source: ABC News (Australia)
The state's third annual deer season, which is open to recreational hunters, started yesterday and runs until the end of October.
The association's executive officer Andrew Cox says recreational hunting is not an effective feral animal control because it is too selective.
Mr Cox says while there is some reduction in deer numbers, hunters need to take stronger action.
"With feral animals acting early and with lots of resources is the way to deal with this," he said.
"I think we can act to stop new populations growing, expanding in areas that weren't covered.
"They certainly are well adapted to many of the coastal wet forests of the east coast of New South Wales."
Source: ABC News (Australia)
Friday, February 20, 2009
WISCONSIN NEWS: Venison Donations to State Hunger Programs Drop 33%
Deer donations to state hunger programs dropped about a third in 2008.
Laurie Fike, Department of Natural Resources deer donation program coordinator, said the drop coincides with the state’s lower deer kill in 2008.
Hunters donated 7,627 deer to Wisconsin’s venison donation programs during the 2008 deer hunting seasons. Through license sales, hunters also donated $17,183 to partially cover the cost of processing deer for the venison program.
Fike said through 2008 hunters have donated more than 69,000 deer, resulting in more than 3.1 million pounds of ground venison in the first nine years of the program.
Wisconsin hunters may donate to Hunt for the Hungry, operating in the Green Bay area, Target Hunger, which handles donations from the chronic wasting disease management zone, or the Wisconsin Venison Donation Program, covering all remaining areas of the state.
Read the full story at: The LaCrosse Tribune
Laurie Fike, Department of Natural Resources deer donation program coordinator, said the drop coincides with the state’s lower deer kill in 2008.
Hunters donated 7,627 deer to Wisconsin’s venison donation programs during the 2008 deer hunting seasons. Through license sales, hunters also donated $17,183 to partially cover the cost of processing deer for the venison program.
Fike said through 2008 hunters have donated more than 69,000 deer, resulting in more than 3.1 million pounds of ground venison in the first nine years of the program.
Wisconsin hunters may donate to Hunt for the Hungry, operating in the Green Bay area, Target Hunger, which handles donations from the chronic wasting disease management zone, or the Wisconsin Venison Donation Program, covering all remaining areas of the state.
Read the full story at: The LaCrosse Tribune
Thursday, February 19, 2009
MARYLAND NEWS: Record Deer Harvest in 2008
Hunters in Maryland killed more than 100,000 deer in a single season for the first time since modern deer management began in the early 1900s, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The record 100,437 deer taken during the 2008-09 season eclipsed the previous record of 94,114 deer set in 2002-03 and is 9 percent higher than last year's count of 92,208 deer.
Agency officials said the number represents good news for families during tough economic times and for the state's efforts to reduce the deer population.
"Hunting license sales increased slightly this year, but we believe the major factor for the record harvest was that hunters increased their efforts to put more venison in the freezer during these lean economic times," said deer project leader Brian Eyler. "The 10 percent increase in the antlerless harvest is great news and will aid us in managing deer numbers across the state."
Source: Washington Post
Agency officials said the number represents good news for families during tough economic times and for the state's efforts to reduce the deer population.
"Hunting license sales increased slightly this year, but we believe the major factor for the record harvest was that hunters increased their efforts to put more venison in the freezer during these lean economic times," said deer project leader Brian Eyler. "The 10 percent increase in the antlerless harvest is great news and will aid us in managing deer numbers across the state."
Source: Washington Post
IRELAND NEWS: Deer Culling Plans Under Development
Landowners and animal preservation societies are planning to cull the number of wild deer, which is said to have increased dramatically in the past few years.
A deer management programme has been devised both to conserve the number of deer and to advise farmers.
The Irish Farmers' Association, the Irish Deer Society and the Wild Deer Association of Ireland are participating in the plan.
IFA Deputy President Derek Deane said the rise in deer numbers has posed problems for farmers, including fence damage, encroaching on crops, grazing of pastureland and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.
Chairman of the Irish Deer Society Paul Wood said while they want to conserve wild deer, there is a need for effective management of deer numbers, which can increase annually by 30%.
President of the Wild Deer Association of Ireland Pat Scully said hunters often concentrate on culling male deer because they want a set of trophy antlers.
However, he said this does very little to control deer numbers as female numbers escalate.
SOURCE: RTE News
A deer management programme has been devised both to conserve the number of deer and to advise farmers.
The Irish Farmers' Association, the Irish Deer Society and the Wild Deer Association of Ireland are participating in the plan.
IFA Deputy President Derek Deane said the rise in deer numbers has posed problems for farmers, including fence damage, encroaching on crops, grazing of pastureland and increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.
Chairman of the Irish Deer Society Paul Wood said while they want to conserve wild deer, there is a need for effective management of deer numbers, which can increase annually by 30%.
President of the Wild Deer Association of Ireland Pat Scully said hunters often concentrate on culling male deer because they want a set of trophy antlers.
However, he said this does very little to control deer numbers as female numbers escalate.
SOURCE: RTE News
WISCONSIN NEWS: City Revisits Deer Feeding Ban Ordinance
Waupun Common Council next week will renew discussions on the possibility of a deer-feeding ban in the city.
Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in its Committee of the Whole workshop at the auditorium at City Hall, 201 E. Main St.
Last year, the city failed to pass an ordinance that would prohibit the feeding of white-tailed deer that are wreaking havoc on trees and shrubs on the northwest side of the city.
Now, with the extent of damage and large sizes of herds, officials believe it is time to revisit the matter.
"We've had snow from November on," said Waupun City Administrator Gary Rogers Jr. "The deer are not that dumb. They've got food, a warm place to sleep, they're not running from hunters and they're coming into town."
Rogers said a couple of herds of deer are roaming the community, causing a great deal of damage.
The ordinance, if passed, would ban residents from setting food plots in yards.
"It's kind of nice to see deer in the countryside," Rogers said. "Now, we're seeing deer (in the city) can be as common as rabbits. They can become a nuisance."
Residents say even barking dogs don't seem to bother the deer, seen walking down streets and through yards — sometimes in groups as many as 20 strong.
Despite testimony last year from Department of Natural Resources officials recommending a ban, the Council voted to keep the feeding of deer in Waupun a legal activity.
Source: Fond du Lac Reporter
Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in its Committee of the Whole workshop at the auditorium at City Hall, 201 E. Main St.
Last year, the city failed to pass an ordinance that would prohibit the feeding of white-tailed deer that are wreaking havoc on trees and shrubs on the northwest side of the city.
Now, with the extent of damage and large sizes of herds, officials believe it is time to revisit the matter.
"We've had snow from November on," said Waupun City Administrator Gary Rogers Jr. "The deer are not that dumb. They've got food, a warm place to sleep, they're not running from hunters and they're coming into town."
Rogers said a couple of herds of deer are roaming the community, causing a great deal of damage.
The ordinance, if passed, would ban residents from setting food plots in yards.
"It's kind of nice to see deer in the countryside," Rogers said. "Now, we're seeing deer (in the city) can be as common as rabbits. They can become a nuisance."
Residents say even barking dogs don't seem to bother the deer, seen walking down streets and through yards — sometimes in groups as many as 20 strong.
Despite testimony last year from Department of Natural Resources officials recommending a ban, the Council voted to keep the feeding of deer in Waupun a legal activity.
Source: Fond du Lac Reporter
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
MISSOURI NEWS: Deer Harvest Down 21% Versus 2007
During the 2008 firearms season, Missouri hunters took 238,819 deer.
In Taney County, the count was down by 67 compared to last year’s total of 2,278.
In Stone County, the count was up 112 for a total of 1,203 deer harvested.
Quinten Fronterhouse, Missouri Department of Conservation’s Taney County conservation agent, said it was pretty much an average season for both counties.
“The first day of the season was slow,” Fronterhouse said. “As the season progressed we had more hunters getting out and I did see more big bucks taken from the area.”
He said the number of deer hunters in southwest Missouri has declined a bit over the past couple of seasons and attributes that to the unlimited number of antlerless permits available to hunters in counties to the north.
“More hunters are going north for bigger deer,” Fronterhouse said.
Deer hunters are allowed one antlerless permit in Stone and Taney counties.
Fronterhouse said even though the harvest numbers were down by 67 in Taney County this past season, it was still considered a successful harvest.
“With less hunters, our buck population in both counties is reaching a higher age class and that is making for better quality deer,” he said.
Source: BransonDailyNews
In Taney County, the count was down by 67 compared to last year’s total of 2,278.
In Stone County, the count was up 112 for a total of 1,203 deer harvested.
Quinten Fronterhouse, Missouri Department of Conservation’s Taney County conservation agent, said it was pretty much an average season for both counties.
“The first day of the season was slow,” Fronterhouse said. “As the season progressed we had more hunters getting out and I did see more big bucks taken from the area.”
He said the number of deer hunters in southwest Missouri has declined a bit over the past couple of seasons and attributes that to the unlimited number of antlerless permits available to hunters in counties to the north.
“More hunters are going north for bigger deer,” Fronterhouse said.
Deer hunters are allowed one antlerless permit in Stone and Taney counties.
Fronterhouse said even though the harvest numbers were down by 67 in Taney County this past season, it was still considered a successful harvest.
“With less hunters, our buck population in both counties is reaching a higher age class and that is making for better quality deer,” he said.
Source: BransonDailyNews
INDIANA NEWS: Record Deer Harvest in 2008
Indiana deer hunters bagged a record amount of deer this season, surpassing a high mark set in 2005.
The state Department of Natural Resources says hunters killed 129,748 deer in 2008, a 4 percent increase over last year's total. The previous record was 125,526 in 2005.
Despite bad weather the opening day of November's firearms season, that segment accounted for about two-thirds of the total harvest.
Northeastern Indiana's Steuben County had the most deer killed of any county in the state for a fourth straight year. The 2008 season was the fifth straight year in which the state's deer harvest topped 120,000.
Source: Chicago Tribune
The state Department of Natural Resources says hunters killed 129,748 deer in 2008, a 4 percent increase over last year's total. The previous record was 125,526 in 2005.
Despite bad weather the opening day of November's firearms season, that segment accounted for about two-thirds of the total harvest.
Northeastern Indiana's Steuben County had the most deer killed of any county in the state for a fourth straight year. The 2008 season was the fifth straight year in which the state's deer harvest topped 120,000.
Source: Chicago 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
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
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
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
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
NEVADA NEWS: Fractal Stupidity in Deer Management
Fractal stupidity - exhibiting stupidity at every level of analysis.
State wildlife officials have announced a plan to kill more mountain lions to help increase the deer population, a move criticized by animal advocates who say drought and development are more important factors in the decrease of deer numbers.
The Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners told agency staff last week to employ the help of sport hunters and contract employees from the U.S. Agriculture Department's Wildlife Services for the state wildlife department's new "program of intensive, sustained predator reduction."
Ken Mayer, director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said his agency would use science to figure out the number of lions to be killed in areas where the predators have been found to adversely affect deer numbers.
"It's not an effort to exterminate mountain lions," Mayer said. "It's an effort to better manage lions with the prey base. Some hunters think the solution to the deer problem is to kill a lot of lions and the deer will come back."
The state's deer population fell from 240,000 in 1988 to 108,000 in 2008, while its current lion population ranges from 1,500 to 2,400, according to the wildlife department.
Nevada already allows lion hunts, each year issuing a quota of lion tags that a hunter can obtain. Commissioners set the quota at 306 tags for the year beginning March 1 and increased the number of tags allowed each hunter from two to three.
Lion advocates compared the new policy to the "Sarah Palin method of wildlife management," which wildlife biologist D.J. Schubert described as removing "animals with big teeth in order to promote the animals hunters like to shoot."
"It's an archaic form of wildlife management," said Schubert, of the Washington-based Animal Welfare Institute. "Unfortunately, they're making the mountain lion a scapegoat, despite the importance of the mountain lion as a top-line predator in any ecosystem."
Palin, Alaska's governor, supports a predator control program that allows private citizens with permits to shoot wolves from the air in an effort to reverse a decline in moose and caribou numbers.
Don Molde, a former board member of the Defenders of Wildlife and a member of the Humane Society of the United States, called the plans "nonsense."
"This is a nonscientific effort to kill an animal just because they don't like it," he said. "It's an irrational dislike of an animal that has every right to live here."
He said similar programs in Washington, Oregon and New Mexico were cut back because of unintended damage to lion numbers.
Wildlife commissioner Scott Raine of Eureka said no one was trying to eliminate the population of mountain lions. He cited studies that showed lions eat one "deer-size"
animal a week.
"We just want to bring them down to a reasonable number, a sustainable number. Otherwise, deer will continue to die off," said Raine, a hunter.
In 2007, hunters killed 145 lions and Wildlife Services killed 37 lions in the state.
Commission chairman Gerald Lent did not return phone calls seeking comment over the weekend.
Source: AP (Google Hosted)
State wildlife officials have announced a plan to kill more mountain lions to help increase the deer population, a move criticized by animal advocates who say drought and development are more important factors in the decrease of deer numbers.
The Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners told agency staff last week to employ the help of sport hunters and contract employees from the U.S. Agriculture Department's Wildlife Services for the state wildlife department's new "program of intensive, sustained predator reduction."
Ken Mayer, director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said his agency would use science to figure out the number of lions to be killed in areas where the predators have been found to adversely affect deer numbers.
"It's not an effort to exterminate mountain lions," Mayer said. "It's an effort to better manage lions with the prey base. Some hunters think the solution to the deer problem is to kill a lot of lions and the deer will come back."
The state's deer population fell from 240,000 in 1988 to 108,000 in 2008, while its current lion population ranges from 1,500 to 2,400, according to the wildlife department.
Nevada already allows lion hunts, each year issuing a quota of lion tags that a hunter can obtain. Commissioners set the quota at 306 tags for the year beginning March 1 and increased the number of tags allowed each hunter from two to three.
Lion advocates compared the new policy to the "Sarah Palin method of wildlife management," which wildlife biologist D.J. Schubert described as removing "animals with big teeth in order to promote the animals hunters like to shoot."
"It's an archaic form of wildlife management," said Schubert, of the Washington-based Animal Welfare Institute. "Unfortunately, they're making the mountain lion a scapegoat, despite the importance of the mountain lion as a top-line predator in any ecosystem."
Palin, Alaska's governor, supports a predator control program that allows private citizens with permits to shoot wolves from the air in an effort to reverse a decline in moose and caribou numbers.
Don Molde, a former board member of the Defenders of Wildlife and a member of the Humane Society of the United States, called the plans "nonsense."
"This is a nonscientific effort to kill an animal just because they don't like it," he said. "It's an irrational dislike of an animal that has every right to live here."
He said similar programs in Washington, Oregon and New Mexico were cut back because of unintended damage to lion numbers.
Wildlife commissioner Scott Raine of Eureka said no one was trying to eliminate the population of mountain lions. He cited studies that showed lions eat one "deer-size"
animal a week.
"We just want to bring them down to a reasonable number, a sustainable number. Otherwise, deer will continue to die off," said Raine, a hunter.
In 2007, hunters killed 145 lions and Wildlife Services killed 37 lions in the state.
Commission chairman Gerald Lent did not return phone calls seeking comment over the weekend.
Source: AP (Google Hosted)
Monday, February 16, 2009
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: Large Cull Planned for Valley Forge National Historical Park
When drivers approach Valley Forge National Historical Park from the south on Thomas Road, they're often greeted by hordes of attentive, long-eared hosts:
Deer.
The animals don't run from the noise of car engines. They don't bolt at the prospect of human contact. They stand and stare.
Soon those sentries may be gone.
Valley Forge officials plan a massive sharpshooting operation to kill up to 1,300 deer during the next four years, eliminating more than 80 percent of the herd and maintaining a much smaller pack through contraceptives.
Administrators say lethal actions are necessary because deer are devouring so many plants, shrubs, and saplings that the forest cannot regenerate.
"Our goal is to restore a natural, healthy, functioning ecosystem," said Kristina Heister, park natural-resource manager. "We feel we need to act now, and we need to act quickly."
The first shoot would take place next winter. Federal employees or contractors would fire high-powered rifles mostly at night, dispatching deer baited to areas with apples and grain. The rifles would have silencers. Some shooting likely would take place during the day in areas closed to the public.
Technically, park administrators are considering four plans to manage deer, with options ranging from doing nothing to killing most of the herd. But they've already identified sharpshooting as the best alternative.
The period for public comment ends Tuesday.
Angry animal-rights activists insist that shooting the deer is unnecessary, unethical, and dangerous to nearby residents.
"Free-living animals can control their numbers, and they do control their numbers," said Lee Hall of Devon, legal director of the international advocacy group Friends of Animals. "The best way to enable them to do this is to respect how they are, and where they are, because nature works."
She's unsure whether the park's count of 1,023 deer is accurate. Even if it is, she said, to say there are too many deer is to impose a human construct on a vital, healthy group of animals governed by larger, natural forces. [Editors note: at 5.3 square miles, this is over 200 deer per square mile]
The deer at Valley Forge, Hall said, get all the blame for environmental degradation, which is at least partly caused by auto emissions, construction, and trampling tourists. The Friends of Animals has urged park managers to think about bloodless alternatives, such as extensive fencing - measures that administrators have rejected.
For the full story visit: The Inquirer
Deer.
The animals don't run from the noise of car engines. They don't bolt at the prospect of human contact. They stand and stare.
Soon those sentries may be gone.
Valley Forge officials plan a massive sharpshooting operation to kill up to 1,300 deer during the next four years, eliminating more than 80 percent of the herd and maintaining a much smaller pack through contraceptives.
Administrators say lethal actions are necessary because deer are devouring so many plants, shrubs, and saplings that the forest cannot regenerate.
"Our goal is to restore a natural, healthy, functioning ecosystem," said Kristina Heister, park natural-resource manager. "We feel we need to act now, and we need to act quickly."
The first shoot would take place next winter. Federal employees or contractors would fire high-powered rifles mostly at night, dispatching deer baited to areas with apples and grain. The rifles would have silencers. Some shooting likely would take place during the day in areas closed to the public.
Technically, park administrators are considering four plans to manage deer, with options ranging from doing nothing to killing most of the herd. But they've already identified sharpshooting as the best alternative.
The period for public comment ends Tuesday.
Angry animal-rights activists insist that shooting the deer is unnecessary, unethical, and dangerous to nearby residents.
"Free-living animals can control their numbers, and they do control their numbers," said Lee Hall of Devon, legal director of the international advocacy group Friends of Animals. "The best way to enable them to do this is to respect how they are, and where they are, because nature works."
She's unsure whether the park's count of 1,023 deer is accurate. Even if it is, she said, to say there are too many deer is to impose a human construct on a vital, healthy group of animals governed by larger, natural forces. [Editors note: at 5.3 square miles, this is over 200 deer per square mile]
The deer at Valley Forge, Hall said, get all the blame for environmental degradation, which is at least partly caused by auto emissions, construction, and trampling tourists. The Friends of Animals has urged park managers to think about bloodless alternatives, such as extensive fencing - measures that administrators have rejected.
For the full story visit: The Inquirer
Friday, February 13, 2009
UK NEWS: Proposal to Reintroduce Lynx to Control Deer
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
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
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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