Just as officials planned to hire hunters to thin out non-native deer at Point Reyes National Seashore, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey came to the deer's defense this week.
Woolsey said she wants officials to kill fallow and axis deer, and sent a letter to park Superintendent Don Neubacher asking that the plan be halted.
Woolsey said a committee should be formed to study alternatives.
The National Park Service said in August 2006 it preferred lethal and contraception methods after reviewing a final environmental impact statement that listed five alternatives to protect native black-tailed deer and tule elk populations threatened by foreign deer in the national seashore.
"Although the park service has gone through a lengthy process to arrive at this point, I believe there is more that could be done before lethal removal is implemented," Woolsey wrote. "There is no urgency to move forward."
Contracts for culling the non-native deer - which biologists said have run roughshod over the park's ecosystem - have been signed and could be launched within weeks, park officials said.
The axis and fallow deer are transplants from Southern Asia and Europe respectively, that were brought to the Point Reyes National Seashore in the 1940's, according to the Marin Independent Journal.
The deer will be eliminated by 2021 under the plan.
Source: http://www.nbc11.com/news/13755633/detail.html
Thursday, July 26, 2007
MICHIGAN NEWS: Clinton Township to Ban Bow Hunting
Clinton Township officials Monday took steps to ban hunting in the 28-square-mile community in response to a large number of people bow hunting deer along the Clinton River.
The township Board of Trustees agreed to ask the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to make a recommendation to close the area to any form of hunting because it poses a safety risk in Michigan's most populated township.
"Every fall during bow hunting season we have people going to hunt in our wetlands and wooded areas along the Clinton River," police Chief Fred Posavetz said. "Invariably, people with homes in that area are concerned about their safety."
Clinton Township already has a law banning firearm hunting, but bow hunting is still legal east of Garfield and north of Clinton River Road. With Clinton Township nearly fully developed with about 98,000 residents, officials want to close that area as well.
Under Monday's action, Clinton Township will ask the DNR to conduct an investigation and determine whether the state agrees there should be a hunting ban, said Kristi Glavich, a township attorney.
"We feel the best way to cleanly prohibit hunting is to have the DNR declare Clinton Township is off limits," Glavich said.
If the DNR agrees, a public hearing will be held in Clinton Township in the coming months.
Township officials said a "healthy deer population" continues to sustain and reproduce along the river. Banning hunting likely will not increase the population, they added. [Rooney notes: actually, it will].
"I don't think it's appropriate to allow hunting in such a populated area," said Clerk Dennis Tomlinson, a longtime bow hunter. "It should be farther out away from the population."
If the measure is approved, the ban would include firearms, bow and arrow, slingshot and trapping.
source: http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/072407/loc_20070724011.shtml
The township Board of Trustees agreed to ask the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to make a recommendation to close the area to any form of hunting because it poses a safety risk in Michigan's most populated township.
"Every fall during bow hunting season we have people going to hunt in our wetlands and wooded areas along the Clinton River," police Chief Fred Posavetz said. "Invariably, people with homes in that area are concerned about their safety."
Clinton Township already has a law banning firearm hunting, but bow hunting is still legal east of Garfield and north of Clinton River Road. With Clinton Township nearly fully developed with about 98,000 residents, officials want to close that area as well.
Under Monday's action, Clinton Township will ask the DNR to conduct an investigation and determine whether the state agrees there should be a hunting ban, said Kristi Glavich, a township attorney.
"We feel the best way to cleanly prohibit hunting is to have the DNR declare Clinton Township is off limits," Glavich said.
If the DNR agrees, a public hearing will be held in Clinton Township in the coming months.
Township officials said a "healthy deer population" continues to sustain and reproduce along the river. Banning hunting likely will not increase the population, they added. [Rooney notes: actually, it will].
"I don't think it's appropriate to allow hunting in such a populated area," said Clerk Dennis Tomlinson, a longtime bow hunter. "It should be farther out away from the population."
If the measure is approved, the ban would include firearms, bow and arrow, slingshot and trapping.
source: http://www.macombdaily.com/stories/072407/loc_20070724011.shtml
MARYLAND NEWS: Increase in Lyme Disease
Kelly Strzelecki has a new reason to avoid ticks -- not that she needed one. "I hate them -- who doesn't?" she asked, prefacing her latest experience with the tiny bloodsuckers.
Her son, Graham, 7, developed a rash last month while the Catonsville family was attending a YMCA camp in tick-infested woods. A week later, the boy fell ill. "He had these unexplained fevers, and he was lethargic and kind of pale," recalled Strzelecki.
Medical tests showed Graham had contracted Lyme disease, a tick-borne infection that's notoriously difficult to spot and well-entrenched in the forests of Maryland and neighboring states.
Confirmed Lyme disease cases have grown steadily over the past decade in the United States. In Maryland, the number of reported cases more than doubled between 2001 and 2006 from 608 cases to 1,248, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
As of July 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had received 675 unconfirmed reports in Maryland this year, a 26 percent increase over the same period last year.
Public health officials said the number of Lyme disease infections is probably on the rise, but cautioned that growing public awareness of the disease might also be responsible for more diagnoses.
Epidemiologists first recorded Lyme disease as a discrete illness in the United States in the mid-1970s, after a number of children in Lyme, Conn., developed joint pain and circular red rashes. Scientists identified Borrelia burgdorferi, the spiral-shaped bacteria that cause the disease, in 1983.
The bacteria are carried by tiny, black-legged ticks that are no larger than a sesame seed. Also known as deer ticks, they feed on deer, mice and other mammals, then pass the Lyme-causing bacteria to humans and domesticated animals. The ticks are particularly common in wooded areas with dense brush, tall grass and heavy leaf litter.
Most people contract the infection in May, June and July, but symptoms often appear in late summer and early fall.
Dr. Charles A. Haile, chief of infectious disease at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, said family doctors have become more comfortable diagnosing and treating Lyme disease in recent years.
In fact, he might not notice a rise in infections, he said, because general practitioners now refer fewer patients to specialists like him. "The expertise in diagnosing Lyme has grown a lot in Maryland over the past 10 years," he said.
The actual number of people contracting the disease may be on the rise as well. One possible reason, experts say, is the increasingly frequent collision between deer and mouse populations and suburban sprawl.
The five Maryland jurisdictions with the most reported Lyme cases are home to large suburban populations: Carroll, Anne Arundel, Frederick, Howard and Harford counties. Cecil County, which has one of the highest per capita rates of infection, is also one of the fastest-growing regions in Maryland.
"We continue to create the environment for the transmission of this disease," said John Krick, director of epidemiology and disease control programs at DHMH. "We build houses on newly cleared land, putting ourselves closer to the forest and wild animals."
While the deer population has fluctuated in recent years, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources estimates that there are about 240,000 white-tailed deer in Maryland, the same number as a decade ago. [Rooney: yes, but deer populations are increasing in the most populated areas and people are increasing in high deer density areas. The state level is the wrong level of analysis here].
Douglas Hotton, leader of DNR's deer management program, said deer numbers may have little to do with the spread of Lyme disease. In fact, he suggested that the very name "deer tick" is misleading. "It ought to really be called the 'mouse tick,'" he said, since the white-footed mouse is the main host for the Lyme-causing bacteria.
Hotton said only a few deer are required to sustain a large number of ticks, and that fluctuations in the population appear to have little effect on the incidence of Lyme disease. Water, which ticks require to thrive, may play a larger role in sustaining a tick population than the sheer number of deer and mice.
Efforts to reduce tick populations in neighborhoods with insecticides are effective, but difficult to implement statewide, Hotton said.
One device scientists have tried applies tick killer to a deer's neck when it sticks its head into a man-made feeder. Another method involves cardboard tubes stuffed with insecticide-soaked cotton balls. Mice use the cotton as nesting material and in the process coat their fur with the tick killer.
Removing brush and leaf litter around homes and edging yards and sports fields with buffer zones of gravel or wood chips can also reduce tick populations, according to the CDC.
Source (and full story):
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-to.hs.lyme26jul26,0,1247.story
Her son, Graham, 7, developed a rash last month while the Catonsville family was attending a YMCA camp in tick-infested woods. A week later, the boy fell ill. "He had these unexplained fevers, and he was lethargic and kind of pale," recalled Strzelecki.
Medical tests showed Graham had contracted Lyme disease, a tick-borne infection that's notoriously difficult to spot and well-entrenched in the forests of Maryland and neighboring states.
Confirmed Lyme disease cases have grown steadily over the past decade in the United States. In Maryland, the number of reported cases more than doubled between 2001 and 2006 from 608 cases to 1,248, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
As of July 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had received 675 unconfirmed reports in Maryland this year, a 26 percent increase over the same period last year.
Public health officials said the number of Lyme disease infections is probably on the rise, but cautioned that growing public awareness of the disease might also be responsible for more diagnoses.
Epidemiologists first recorded Lyme disease as a discrete illness in the United States in the mid-1970s, after a number of children in Lyme, Conn., developed joint pain and circular red rashes. Scientists identified Borrelia burgdorferi, the spiral-shaped bacteria that cause the disease, in 1983.
The bacteria are carried by tiny, black-legged ticks that are no larger than a sesame seed. Also known as deer ticks, they feed on deer, mice and other mammals, then pass the Lyme-causing bacteria to humans and domesticated animals. The ticks are particularly common in wooded areas with dense brush, tall grass and heavy leaf litter.
Most people contract the infection in May, June and July, but symptoms often appear in late summer and early fall.
Dr. Charles A. Haile, chief of infectious disease at Greater Baltimore Medical Center, said family doctors have become more comfortable diagnosing and treating Lyme disease in recent years.
In fact, he might not notice a rise in infections, he said, because general practitioners now refer fewer patients to specialists like him. "The expertise in diagnosing Lyme has grown a lot in Maryland over the past 10 years," he said.
The actual number of people contracting the disease may be on the rise as well. One possible reason, experts say, is the increasingly frequent collision between deer and mouse populations and suburban sprawl.
The five Maryland jurisdictions with the most reported Lyme cases are home to large suburban populations: Carroll, Anne Arundel, Frederick, Howard and Harford counties. Cecil County, which has one of the highest per capita rates of infection, is also one of the fastest-growing regions in Maryland.
"We continue to create the environment for the transmission of this disease," said John Krick, director of epidemiology and disease control programs at DHMH. "We build houses on newly cleared land, putting ourselves closer to the forest and wild animals."
While the deer population has fluctuated in recent years, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources estimates that there are about 240,000 white-tailed deer in Maryland, the same number as a decade ago. [Rooney: yes, but deer populations are increasing in the most populated areas and people are increasing in high deer density areas. The state level is the wrong level of analysis here].
Douglas Hotton, leader of DNR's deer management program, said deer numbers may have little to do with the spread of Lyme disease. In fact, he suggested that the very name "deer tick" is misleading. "It ought to really be called the 'mouse tick,'" he said, since the white-footed mouse is the main host for the Lyme-causing bacteria.
Hotton said only a few deer are required to sustain a large number of ticks, and that fluctuations in the population appear to have little effect on the incidence of Lyme disease. Water, which ticks require to thrive, may play a larger role in sustaining a tick population than the sheer number of deer and mice.
Efforts to reduce tick populations in neighborhoods with insecticides are effective, but difficult to implement statewide, Hotton said.
One device scientists have tried applies tick killer to a deer's neck when it sticks its head into a man-made feeder. Another method involves cardboard tubes stuffed with insecticide-soaked cotton balls. Mice use the cotton as nesting material and in the process coat their fur with the tick killer.
Removing brush and leaf litter around homes and edging yards and sports fields with buffer zones of gravel or wood chips can also reduce tick populations, according to the CDC.
Source (and full story):
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-to.hs.lyme26jul26,0,1247.story
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
NEW JERSEY NEWS: Humane Society Pushes Non-Lethal Deer Control
SOLEBURY — Few sights can top the serene majesty of a white-tailed deer in a green field or a shaded wood.
But that same deer can inflict damage and death on the nation's highways and back roads.
The problem, experts agree, is the conflict that results when the habitats of people and nature overlap. Where the experts disagree is how best to handle the conflict.
Some experts advocate allowing hunters to thin the herd, but this summer, the problem became too severe in a local community to wait for hunting season.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services has said a more immediate response was needed in Solebury Township to cut the deer-vehicle collision rate of two every three days and also to curtail the damage inflicted on local crops.
Wildlife Services sent in a crew, including a sharpshooter with night-vision goggles and thermal imaging equipment, to cull the herd. The crew killed 116 deer, including 12 fawns, over a four-night period. The crew will return sometime in August to continue the shoot.
The Humane Society of the United States says there are other, better methods to control the conflict that are also more humane. Tonight (July 26) at New Hope-Solebury High School at 6:30 p.m., the society will present a discussion of nonlethal methods. Donald Elroy, the society's director of wildlife advocacy in Washington D.C., will be the speaker.
People who attend the meeting will have the opportunity to sign a petition against the lethal methods of deer control.
The petition is intended not just for Solebury residents, but for anyone who "feels this could become an issue in their area," said Kathy Mays Acker, a former Solebury resident who now resides in Plumsteadville.
She added, "So we can show our representatives that we do not care to ever have them go and think along these lines when there are so many other ways to address this issue."
The shoot in Solebury may cause an undesirable increase in the number of deer, according to the Humane Society.
It could result in "less challenging situations and more habitat for the remaining deer," Mr. Elroy said.
He added, "When this occurs, the deer rebound by having more sets of twins, thereby increasing population numbers."
The society says other effective methods would address the collisions and the loss of income to farmers as well as Lyme disease.
"Crop loss and damage could easily be compensated by the community or through USDA," Mr. Elroy told Wildlife Services and Solebury in a letter e-mailed June 20. "Compensation for crop loss is a regular program under the auspices of the USDA."
To prevent the damage in the first place, Mr. Elroy said nurseries in the area have had "very impressive results" when they erected deer fencing.
The frequency of collisions can be lowered through a number of means, according to the society. Among the options are lower speed limits, Strieter-Lite reflectors, motion sensor flashing signals, wildlife crossings and green bridges.
The Strieter-Lite Wild Animal Highway Warning Reflector System was patented in 1994. It is designed to work between dusk and dawn when deer are most active. The system reflects vehicle headlights and sends out a reflected beam at deer. It acts to deter deer from crossing the road while traffic is approaching.
Green bridges are grassy, earth-like pathways or bridges constructed over roads. They funnel deer and other large wildlife away from the path of traffic.
With the proximity of deer to the human population comes a concern for ticks, and with certain ticks comes disease. Tick bites can result in at least 10 different diseases in humans, including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, according to the American Lyme Disease Foundation.
The deer tick, or black-legged tick, is responsible for transmitting Lyme disease in the eastern part of the United States. It needs to feed on blood as it moves through the three stages of its life cycle, larva, nymph and adult.
In the adult stage, the tick waits on leaves or grass for a passing host, preferably a deer, and latches on as the deer passes by.
The USDA has used a device called a four-poster to deal with ticks in the deer population. It is a metal device where deer feed. As they insert their heads and necks into the device, they are brushed with a tick-killing chemical.
The Humane Society says the USDA should also consider ways to control ticks at other stages in the life cycle.
"If the ticks are controlled at an earlier developmental stage, it would have an overall larger effect on tick population and control of Lyme disease," Mr. Elroy said. "The black-legged tick is not specific to deer and transfers through a variety of hosts during different life stages."
To control the deer population, the society also points to methods of contraception as well as surgical sterilization.
"In short, there are a variety of non-lethal approaches that should have been implemented in the initial stage of any strategy or plan concerning human-deer conflict situations," Mr. Elroy said.
source: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18621086&BRD=1091&PAG=461&dept_id=425410&rfi=6
But that same deer can inflict damage and death on the nation's highways and back roads.
The problem, experts agree, is the conflict that results when the habitats of people and nature overlap. Where the experts disagree is how best to handle the conflict.
Some experts advocate allowing hunters to thin the herd, but this summer, the problem became too severe in a local community to wait for hunting season.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services has said a more immediate response was needed in Solebury Township to cut the deer-vehicle collision rate of two every three days and also to curtail the damage inflicted on local crops.
Wildlife Services sent in a crew, including a sharpshooter with night-vision goggles and thermal imaging equipment, to cull the herd. The crew killed 116 deer, including 12 fawns, over a four-night period. The crew will return sometime in August to continue the shoot.
The Humane Society of the United States says there are other, better methods to control the conflict that are also more humane. Tonight (July 26) at New Hope-Solebury High School at 6:30 p.m., the society will present a discussion of nonlethal methods. Donald Elroy, the society's director of wildlife advocacy in Washington D.C., will be the speaker.
People who attend the meeting will have the opportunity to sign a petition against the lethal methods of deer control.
The petition is intended not just for Solebury residents, but for anyone who "feels this could become an issue in their area," said Kathy Mays Acker, a former Solebury resident who now resides in Plumsteadville.
She added, "So we can show our representatives that we do not care to ever have them go and think along these lines when there are so many other ways to address this issue."
The shoot in Solebury may cause an undesirable increase in the number of deer, according to the Humane Society.
It could result in "less challenging situations and more habitat for the remaining deer," Mr. Elroy said.
He added, "When this occurs, the deer rebound by having more sets of twins, thereby increasing population numbers."
The society says other effective methods would address the collisions and the loss of income to farmers as well as Lyme disease.
"Crop loss and damage could easily be compensated by the community or through USDA," Mr. Elroy told Wildlife Services and Solebury in a letter e-mailed June 20. "Compensation for crop loss is a regular program under the auspices of the USDA."
To prevent the damage in the first place, Mr. Elroy said nurseries in the area have had "very impressive results" when they erected deer fencing.
The frequency of collisions can be lowered through a number of means, according to the society. Among the options are lower speed limits, Strieter-Lite reflectors, motion sensor flashing signals, wildlife crossings and green bridges.
The Strieter-Lite Wild Animal Highway Warning Reflector System was patented in 1994. It is designed to work between dusk and dawn when deer are most active. The system reflects vehicle headlights and sends out a reflected beam at deer. It acts to deter deer from crossing the road while traffic is approaching.
Green bridges are grassy, earth-like pathways or bridges constructed over roads. They funnel deer and other large wildlife away from the path of traffic.
With the proximity of deer to the human population comes a concern for ticks, and with certain ticks comes disease. Tick bites can result in at least 10 different diseases in humans, including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, according to the American Lyme Disease Foundation.
The deer tick, or black-legged tick, is responsible for transmitting Lyme disease in the eastern part of the United States. It needs to feed on blood as it moves through the three stages of its life cycle, larva, nymph and adult.
In the adult stage, the tick waits on leaves or grass for a passing host, preferably a deer, and latches on as the deer passes by.
The USDA has used a device called a four-poster to deal with ticks in the deer population. It is a metal device where deer feed. As they insert their heads and necks into the device, they are brushed with a tick-killing chemical.
The Humane Society says the USDA should also consider ways to control ticks at other stages in the life cycle.
"If the ticks are controlled at an earlier developmental stage, it would have an overall larger effect on tick population and control of Lyme disease," Mr. Elroy said. "The black-legged tick is not specific to deer and transfers through a variety of hosts during different life stages."
To control the deer population, the society also points to methods of contraception as well as surgical sterilization.
"In short, there are a variety of non-lethal approaches that should have been implemented in the initial stage of any strategy or plan concerning human-deer conflict situations," Mr. Elroy said.
source: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18621086&BRD=1091&PAG=461&dept_id=425410&rfi=6
Thursday, July 12, 2007
NEW BRUNSWICK NEWS: Mild Winter, Spring Deer Population Up
A mild winter may be responsible for what looks like a baby boom in New Brunswick's deer population.
Rod Cumberland, the province's deer biologist, says numbers are up in certain areas of the province, including the Tobique River Valley, the Saint John-Kennebecasis River Valley and the Miramichi River Valley.
Cumberland says biologists are also seeing an increase in multiple births, with three sets of triplets found this year and four sets of quadruplets.
Single births and twins are common among deer.
Not only are there more fawns, more of them are surviving through the winter and early spring. Cumberland says the weather had a lot to do with that.
"The lack of snow, of course, is a good thing for deer, especially those that live this far north," he said. "Usually it's the tough winters that keep our deer population from growing a lot."
Researchers are now watching to see how many of the fawns survive the summer.
A previous study found 54 per cent of fawns don't make it to fall, but last year, only 30 per cent died.
Cumberland says that may mean a healthier deer population in New Brunswick.
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2007/07/12/nb-moredeer.html
Rod Cumberland, the province's deer biologist, says numbers are up in certain areas of the province, including the Tobique River Valley, the Saint John-Kennebecasis River Valley and the Miramichi River Valley.
Cumberland says biologists are also seeing an increase in multiple births, with three sets of triplets found this year and four sets of quadruplets.
Single births and twins are common among deer.
Not only are there more fawns, more of them are surviving through the winter and early spring. Cumberland says the weather had a lot to do with that.
"The lack of snow, of course, is a good thing for deer, especially those that live this far north," he said. "Usually it's the tough winters that keep our deer population from growing a lot."
Researchers are now watching to see how many of the fawns survive the summer.
A previous study found 54 per cent of fawns don't make it to fall, but last year, only 30 per cent died.
Cumberland says that may mean a healthier deer population in New Brunswick.
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2007/07/12/nb-moredeer.html
RESEARCH NEWS: CWD Prion More Infectious Than Previously Thought
New research shows that the prion — a mysterious infectious agent that is neither bacterium nor virus — is 700 times more infectious when combined with common minerals found in dirt.
Not only is the prion an abnormal protein that can devastate infected animals and humans — it has has been compared to an alien due to its virtual indestructibility, its unusual ability to replicate itself and its propensity for eating away at the brain — but it may live on and remain virulent in the soil itself.
The finding is important to hunters across the country, as chronic wasting disease continues to spread in wild deer herds. It also has important implications for cattle and sheep farmers, as mad cow disease in cows and scrapie in sheep are also caused by prions.
As for humans, the implications for illness– known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease — is unknown. While serious disease among humans has been tied to the eating of meat from diseased cows, no such links have been made between venison and human health, and hunters are well informed about steps needed to reduce the risk of transmission.
Source: www.thedailygreen.com/2007/07/11/deer-hunters-beware-study-shows-cwd-virulence/3691/
Not only is the prion an abnormal protein that can devastate infected animals and humans — it has has been compared to an alien due to its virtual indestructibility, its unusual ability to replicate itself and its propensity for eating away at the brain — but it may live on and remain virulent in the soil itself.
The finding is important to hunters across the country, as chronic wasting disease continues to spread in wild deer herds. It also has important implications for cattle and sheep farmers, as mad cow disease in cows and scrapie in sheep are also caused by prions.
As for humans, the implications for illness– known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease — is unknown. While serious disease among humans has been tied to the eating of meat from diseased cows, no such links have been made between venison and human health, and hunters are well informed about steps needed to reduce the risk of transmission.
Source: www.thedailygreen.com/2007/07/11/deer-hunters-beware-study-shows-cwd-virulence/3691/
Thursday, July 05, 2007
WISCONSIN OPINION: Good Reasons to Ban Deer Baiting and Feeding
Keith McCaffery, retired northern deer biologist for the DNR, emphasizes that the state can not effectively manage deer in the presence of baiting and feeding.
"It changes their productivity, survivorship, their behavior and distribution, and greatly confounds harvest management," McCaffery said. "This is 'old hat' and has been known by deer biologists for a long time."
"But, some of the new reasons for concern are that saliva was proven to be a means of transmission for CWD, which converted a number of doubters," he said. "They had speculated that saliva was highly suspect and that has now been proven. Researchers took saliva from animals that manifested symptoms and orally gave it to fawns that later came down with CWD."
Other relatively new factors that should turn the tide against baiting and feeding, include the report last December by DNR Chief Conservation Warden Randy Stark that highlights problems wardens are seeing with illegal baiting. To McCaffery the violations that occur and the way some hunters use baiting to take over land that should be open to the public is an embarrassment.
Third is University of Wisconsin-Wildlife Ecology assistant professor Tim Van Deelen's report analyzing the effect of baiting on herd control."Van Deelen found that baiting tended to increase the archery harvest slightly, but it decreased the firearm harvest and the net effect was no effect," McCaffery said.
Another new reason why baiting and feeding should be banned, McCaffery said, is the emergence of new diseases. Michigan has had a problem with Bovine tuberculosis in its wild deer herd, and more recently Minnesota has found tuberculosis in part of its deer herd. In addition, Pseudorabies has appeared around Marshfield and there is speculation that it may have come from feral hogs. McCaffery wonders if baiting is playing a factor in its transmission.
"The fact that diseases continue to pop up should be an alarm bell," McCaffery said.
McCaffery said he has been concerned about the lack of political support for actions to control CWD in Wisconsin.
Source: http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/200107
"It changes their productivity, survivorship, their behavior and distribution, and greatly confounds harvest management," McCaffery said. "This is 'old hat' and has been known by deer biologists for a long time."
"But, some of the new reasons for concern are that saliva was proven to be a means of transmission for CWD, which converted a number of doubters," he said. "They had speculated that saliva was highly suspect and that has now been proven. Researchers took saliva from animals that manifested symptoms and orally gave it to fawns that later came down with CWD."
Other relatively new factors that should turn the tide against baiting and feeding, include the report last December by DNR Chief Conservation Warden Randy Stark that highlights problems wardens are seeing with illegal baiting. To McCaffery the violations that occur and the way some hunters use baiting to take over land that should be open to the public is an embarrassment.
Third is University of Wisconsin-Wildlife Ecology assistant professor Tim Van Deelen's report analyzing the effect of baiting on herd control."Van Deelen found that baiting tended to increase the archery harvest slightly, but it decreased the firearm harvest and the net effect was no effect," McCaffery said.
Another new reason why baiting and feeding should be banned, McCaffery said, is the emergence of new diseases. Michigan has had a problem with Bovine tuberculosis in its wild deer herd, and more recently Minnesota has found tuberculosis in part of its deer herd. In addition, Pseudorabies has appeared around Marshfield and there is speculation that it may have come from feral hogs. McCaffery wonders if baiting is playing a factor in its transmission.
"The fact that diseases continue to pop up should be an alarm bell," McCaffery said.
McCaffery said he has been concerned about the lack of political support for actions to control CWD in Wisconsin.
Source: http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/200107
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
SWITZERLAND NEWS: Another Deer in the Alps Gets Stoned
Authorities in Switzerland uncovered an illegal cannabis farm after locals complained about a stoned deer.
It is reported the deer had been attacking hikers, sleeping in roads and even wandering into homes and stores.
After numerous complaints forest rangers in Trient, Switzerland, launched an investigation.
They discovered an illegal cannabis farm set up by two locals, who were arrested as they went to harvest their crop.
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=iol1183440553562D600
It is reported the deer had been attacking hikers, sleeping in roads and even wandering into homes and stores.
After numerous complaints forest rangers in Trient, Switzerland, launched an investigation.
They discovered an illegal cannabis farm set up by two locals, who were arrested as they went to harvest their crop.
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=29&art_id=iol1183440553562D600
Friday, June 29, 2007
ITALY NEWS: Deer Eats Marijuana, Frisky Behavior Ensues
Forest rangers have uncovered a marijuana farm on a mountaintop near Trento after residents commented on how the deer were 'unusually frisky' and leaping about uncharacteristically.
The rangers themselves had observed that the deer were out in the daytime which is unusual for the species. Further investigation yielded some pots and the remains of marijuana plants.
Police arrested two people in their twenties over the plantation, a factory worker and a university student. The charges may be dropped, however, as the deer consumed most of the evidence.
source: http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=63330
The rangers themselves had observed that the deer were out in the daytime which is unusual for the species. Further investigation yielded some pots and the remains of marijuana plants.
Police arrested two people in their twenties over the plantation, a factory worker and a university student. The charges may be dropped, however, as the deer consumed most of the evidence.
source: http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=63330
Monday, June 25, 2007
CALIFORNIA NEWS: Santa Rosa Island Ungulates Soon To Be Back in Crosshairs
WASHINGTON -- Santa Rosa Island is once again the subject of federal legislation as California Democrats have taken steps toward restoring the National Park Service’s ability to help remove deer and elk from the island.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the 2008 Interior Department spending bill Thursday and included a repeal of a section of law enacted late last year that restricted the park service.
Last fall, Rep. Duncal Hunter, D-Calif., specifically barred the park service from eliminating or nearly eliminating deer and elk from Santa Rosa Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park.
He had previously proposed transferring control of the island to the Defense Department and designating it as a hunting refuge for disabled veterans. But he failed to gain support for that measure.
Hunter’s provision, attached to the 2007 defense bill, intentionally conflicted with a court settlement that mandated the park service share in the cost of removing the last of the deer and elk from the island.
Source: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=38355
Under that settlement, Vail & Vickers, which holds a private hunting permit for deer and elk on the island, must begin culling the herds in 2008 and eliminate them by 2011, with the park service’s help.
The park service, which acquired the island from the Vail and Vickers family in 1986, believes the non-native deer and elk wreak havoc on the island’s ecosystem. The 53,000-acre island is home to hundreds of plant and bird species, as well as the native island fox and marine life.
Private hunting forces the park to close 45,000 acres of the island to the public from August through December.
Duncan’s law made it illegal for the park service to comply with the terms of the court settlement.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Rep. Lois Capps have been working to repeal the provision since it took effect in late 2006.
The panel’s spending bill would accomplish just that if it passes the full Senate and survives scrunity by the U.S. House later this year.
“To ensure that the public is able to enjoy year-round access to Santa Rosa and that the Park Service can protect the Island’s natural resources, it is critical that this ill-advised provision be repealed,” Capps said. “I am pleased that the Senate is moving quickly.”
Hunter’s office could not be reached for comment Friday.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the 2008 Interior Department spending bill Thursday and included a repeal of a section of law enacted late last year that restricted the park service.
Last fall, Rep. Duncal Hunter, D-Calif., specifically barred the park service from eliminating or nearly eliminating deer and elk from Santa Rosa Island, part of the Channel Islands National Park.
He had previously proposed transferring control of the island to the Defense Department and designating it as a hunting refuge for disabled veterans. But he failed to gain support for that measure.
Hunter’s provision, attached to the 2007 defense bill, intentionally conflicted with a court settlement that mandated the park service share in the cost of removing the last of the deer and elk from the island.
Source: http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/washington/news.aspx?id=38355
Under that settlement, Vail & Vickers, which holds a private hunting permit for deer and elk on the island, must begin culling the herds in 2008 and eliminate them by 2011, with the park service’s help.
The park service, which acquired the island from the Vail and Vickers family in 1986, believes the non-native deer and elk wreak havoc on the island’s ecosystem. The 53,000-acre island is home to hundreds of plant and bird species, as well as the native island fox and marine life.
Private hunting forces the park to close 45,000 acres of the island to the public from August through December.
Duncan’s law made it illegal for the park service to comply with the terms of the court settlement.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Rep. Lois Capps have been working to repeal the provision since it took effect in late 2006.
The panel’s spending bill would accomplish just that if it passes the full Senate and survives scrunity by the U.S. House later this year.
“To ensure that the public is able to enjoy year-round access to Santa Rosa and that the Park Service can protect the Island’s natural resources, it is critical that this ill-advised provision be repealed,” Capps said. “I am pleased that the Senate is moving quickly.”
Hunter’s office could not be reached for comment Friday.
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: Another Philly Suburb Struggles With Deer
Bow-hunting is one of three deer-control recommendations that East Goshen supervisors will listen to Tuesday night when they hear a report from a township study group, but no decision on the issue is expected until after a public hearing in September.
James McRee, who heads the township deer-management committee, said the group will unveil its plan Tuesday after finalizing it at a meeting of its own Monday.
The recommendations are that East Goshen employ a private hunting club to thin the deer herd with bows and arrows, that property owners use "non-lethal" means such as building fences and spraying repellants on plants and that the township educate its residents about deer.
"We want to do all three" of the recommendations, McRee said during an interview last week.
At the Pennsylvania Game Commission, spokesman Jerry Feaser said a town can permit hunting only on town-owned land - just as a landowner can invite or forbid hunters only on his own property - during a state hunting season.
Feaser offered a standing statement which reads:
"Only the Pennsylvania Game Commission has been empowered to regulate hunting and trapping in the commonwealth. And, while municipalities have the authority to limit the discharge of firearms and bows for target practice or other non-hunting related activities within their municipalities' limits, local officials do not have the authority to impact this activity when it is being done as part of lawful hunting."
The statement noted that "the statewide archery and crossbow safety zone is 50 yards" from most buildings but the zone for all hunters "is 150 yards from any playground, school, nursery school or day-care center."
The question for township officials, Feaser said, is: "Are they trying to impact all township property or are they acting in their role as landowner of township-owned land?"
East Goshen zoning officer Mark Gordon in an interview pointed out that if hunting becomes an option, the township will regulate it only "on township-owned property."
In an interview earlier this year, township manager Rick Smith noted that in 2005, East Goshen allowed archers in tree stands "on three parcels of the township open space. I believe they took 10 or 11 deer over the course of the hunting season."
But an aerial survey on the night of March 25-26 counted 296 deer within East Goshen and 142 nearby.
In a parallel Chester County situation, Schuylkill Township has worked to persuade homeowners to allow hunting by a private group, the White Tail Associates Hunting Club.
Jim Morrison, head of Schuylkill's deer-management committee, said that since 1993 hunters have killed 996 deer, without killing the problem.
"Despite our best efforts over 14 years," Morrison said for an April article, "we still have got a fairly high deer population."
Ellen Sinclair, an elementary school teacher, was a no vote when the East Goshen deer-management committee recently voted 6-2 to make the three recommendations to the supervisors.
"A lot of my reservations for hunting in the township are safety," Sinclair said in an interview. "I don't think we have have a well-developed plan yet."
Source: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/chester/voices/20070617_A_plan_to_reduce_the_deer_herd_to_be_
unveiled_in_East_Goshen_The_supervisors_will_hear_the_three-part_proposal_on_Tuesday_night__It_will_include_
a_hunting_plan_.html
James McRee, who heads the township deer-management committee, said the group will unveil its plan Tuesday after finalizing it at a meeting of its own Monday.
The recommendations are that East Goshen employ a private hunting club to thin the deer herd with bows and arrows, that property owners use "non-lethal" means such as building fences and spraying repellants on plants and that the township educate its residents about deer.
"We want to do all three" of the recommendations, McRee said during an interview last week.
At the Pennsylvania Game Commission, spokesman Jerry Feaser said a town can permit hunting only on town-owned land - just as a landowner can invite or forbid hunters only on his own property - during a state hunting season.
Feaser offered a standing statement which reads:
"Only the Pennsylvania Game Commission has been empowered to regulate hunting and trapping in the commonwealth. And, while municipalities have the authority to limit the discharge of firearms and bows for target practice or other non-hunting related activities within their municipalities' limits, local officials do not have the authority to impact this activity when it is being done as part of lawful hunting."
The statement noted that "the statewide archery and crossbow safety zone is 50 yards" from most buildings but the zone for all hunters "is 150 yards from any playground, school, nursery school or day-care center."
The question for township officials, Feaser said, is: "Are they trying to impact all township property or are they acting in their role as landowner of township-owned land?"
East Goshen zoning officer Mark Gordon in an interview pointed out that if hunting becomes an option, the township will regulate it only "on township-owned property."
In an interview earlier this year, township manager Rick Smith noted that in 2005, East Goshen allowed archers in tree stands "on three parcels of the township open space. I believe they took 10 or 11 deer over the course of the hunting season."
But an aerial survey on the night of March 25-26 counted 296 deer within East Goshen and 142 nearby.
In a parallel Chester County situation, Schuylkill Township has worked to persuade homeowners to allow hunting by a private group, the White Tail Associates Hunting Club.
Jim Morrison, head of Schuylkill's deer-management committee, said that since 1993 hunters have killed 996 deer, without killing the problem.
"Despite our best efforts over 14 years," Morrison said for an April article, "we still have got a fairly high deer population."
Ellen Sinclair, an elementary school teacher, was a no vote when the East Goshen deer-management committee recently voted 6-2 to make the three recommendations to the supervisors.
"A lot of my reservations for hunting in the township are safety," Sinclair said in an interview. "I don't think we have have a well-developed plan yet."
Source: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/chester/voices/20070617_A_plan_to_reduce_the_deer_herd_to_be_
unveiled_in_East_Goshen_The_supervisors_will_hear_the_three-part_proposal_on_Tuesday_night__It_will_include_
a_hunting_plan_.html
Friday, May 25, 2007
DEER BEHAVING BADLY: Daily Roundup
MICHIGAN--It wasn't your ordinary day of work for some office personnel at MSU. A mother deer and her fawn crashed right through their window. Michigan State University police say the deer, clearly disoriented, thrashed around the college of human medicine's office. One deer even jumped into an employee's lap, leaving her with minor injuries.
Source (with video): http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=6568200
COLORADO--Run-ins in between wildlife and people are on the rise this spring. Just ask Louis Gaz, who saw a deer crash through a window and into a bedroom in his home.
"I just saw this brown flash going my direction," said Gaz, 76, who was outside with a friend on Saturday when the deer burst into his house in Lafayette, about 20 miles north of Denver.
Gaz said he tried to get the deer to leave through a door, but it eventually bolted back through the jagged hole in the window, leaving blood, fur and broken glass behind.
Source: http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2007/05/25/news/regional/612fa28241e27adf872572e5006d229f.txt
Source (with video): http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=6568200
COLORADO--Run-ins in between wildlife and people are on the rise this spring. Just ask Louis Gaz, who saw a deer crash through a window and into a bedroom in his home.
"I just saw this brown flash going my direction," said Gaz, 76, who was outside with a friend on Saturday when the deer burst into his house in Lafayette, about 20 miles north of Denver.
Gaz said he tried to get the deer to leave through a door, but it eventually bolted back through the jagged hole in the window, leaving blood, fur and broken glass behind.
Source: http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2007/05/25/news/regional/612fa28241e27adf872572e5006d229f.txt
Monday, May 21, 2007
NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS: Too Many in Southeast, Too Few Everywhere Else
NEW HAMPSHIRE (AP) -- New Hampshire Fish and Game officials are trying to increase the white-tailed deer population everywhere except the southeast corner of the state, where there's too much of a good thing.
Thanks to a healthy herd and good weather, hunters killed nearly 12,000 deer in New Hampshire last year, the fourth-highest total on record. More than one in ten were killed in the area stretching from the Nashua area to the Seacoast, south of Route 101.
After a serious drop in the deer population, the state limited hunting in 1983. The herd has rebounded since then, but Fish and Game would like to see it increase by another 45 percent, except in the southeast, where they'd like to see it fall by nearly one-third.
Last year, the state increased the number of special permits it sold allowing hunters to kill a second deer in that area.
Source: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=61117
Thanks to a healthy herd and good weather, hunters killed nearly 12,000 deer in New Hampshire last year, the fourth-highest total on record. More than one in ten were killed in the area stretching from the Nashua area to the Seacoast, south of Route 101.
After a serious drop in the deer population, the state limited hunting in 1983. The herd has rebounded since then, but Fish and Game would like to see it increase by another 45 percent, except in the southeast, where they'd like to see it fall by nearly one-third.
Last year, the state increased the number of special permits it sold allowing hunters to kill a second deer in that area.
Source: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=61117
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
INDIANA NEWS: Deer Breaks Into House, Bleeds Out
The first half of May has been quite eventful for Bob and Helen Meyer of Decatur. On May 8, their son, city police Detective Eric "Keebie" Meyer, was the upset winner of the Republican primary election for nomination to run for mayor, deposing five-term chief executive Fred Isch. Saturday, May 12 was Keebie's birthday. Sunday, May 13, was Bob's and Helen's 57th wedding anniversary and also Mother's Day.
Oh, yeah, there was one more thing: on the 12th - a young deer bashed into the couple's Mercer Ave. home and bled to death after severing a jugular vein on broken window glass. The Meyers said they were watching television around 6 p.m. on Saturday in the rear of their home when they heard glass breaking. They went to the front door and saw a man who had stopped his pickup truck on Mercer, near Adams Memorial Hospital, and who told them he had just missed two deer darting across the road. The man then said one of the deer jumped through a window into the Meyer home. That window is beside the front door, but a wall separates the door from the room next door, so Bob and Helen could not see the damage.
As they investigated the damage in that bedroom, they heard another sound of breaking glass, so they went to a second bedroom and found a young male deer on the floor, dying. "He was still kicking." Bob recalls, but there was blood everywhere: on walls, the floor, the bed, pillows, clothes, etc. The deer had apparently not been badly hurt going through the first window, but severed a major vein as he tried to escape through the second window. Luckily, the animal did not damage any of the many plastic warplane models that Bob, an Air Force veteran, has in the den and the bedroom in which the deer died.
"If he'd have damaged those planes, I would have killed him," Bob said on Tuesday. The Meyers expect their insurance to cover the losses and the replacement of such things as carpeting and even a pair of pants that Bob had never worn, but which were spotted with blood. Maybe the second half of the month will be calmer . . . but wait until the mayoral race culminates in November.
Source: http://www.decaturdailydemocrat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5501&Itemid=27
Oh, yeah, there was one more thing: on the 12th - a young deer bashed into the couple's Mercer Ave. home and bled to death after severing a jugular vein on broken window glass. The Meyers said they were watching television around 6 p.m. on Saturday in the rear of their home when they heard glass breaking. They went to the front door and saw a man who had stopped his pickup truck on Mercer, near Adams Memorial Hospital, and who told them he had just missed two deer darting across the road. The man then said one of the deer jumped through a window into the Meyer home. That window is beside the front door, but a wall separates the door from the room next door, so Bob and Helen could not see the damage.
As they investigated the damage in that bedroom, they heard another sound of breaking glass, so they went to a second bedroom and found a young male deer on the floor, dying. "He was still kicking." Bob recalls, but there was blood everywhere: on walls, the floor, the bed, pillows, clothes, etc. The deer had apparently not been badly hurt going through the first window, but severed a major vein as he tried to escape through the second window. Luckily, the animal did not damage any of the many plastic warplane models that Bob, an Air Force veteran, has in the den and the bedroom in which the deer died.
"If he'd have damaged those planes, I would have killed him," Bob said on Tuesday. The Meyers expect their insurance to cover the losses and the replacement of such things as carpeting and even a pair of pants that Bob had never worn, but which were spotted with blood. Maybe the second half of the month will be calmer . . . but wait until the mayoral race culminates in November.
Source: http://www.decaturdailydemocrat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5501&Itemid=27
Monday, May 14, 2007
WEST VIRGINIA NEWS: Three More Cases of CWD Confirmed
CHARLESTON — Three more free-ranging white-tailed deer in Hampshire County have tested positive for chronic wasting disease, bringing the total of CWD-positive deer found in that county to 13, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources an-nounced Friday.
These most recent samples were collected from 101 adult deer taken in March and April by DNR personnel as part of an ongoing and intensive CWD surveillance effort. The three CWD-positive deer were collected within the CWD Containment Area located north of U.S. Route 50 in Hampshire County. The laboratory testing was conducted by the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
When CWD was first confirmed in Hampshire County in September 2005, the DNR immediately implemented a response plan. The DNR has been engaged in intensive CWD surveillance efforts designed to determine the distribution and prevalence of the disease. These efforts have included carefully planned and coordinated deer collections within Hampshire County by CWD deer collection teams.
“These deer collection teams have continued their efforts to gather appropriate samples within the surveillance area to accurately determine the prevalence and distribution of CWD,” said DNR Director Frank Jezioro.
“Our initial CWD surveillance data suggests the disease is located within a relatively small geographic area located near Slanesville,” said Jezioro. “This is encouraging news. Based upon these findings, we have implemented appropriate management actions designed to control the spread of this disease, prevent further introduction of the disease and possibly eliminate the disease from the state,” Jezioro added.
Source: http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_132093832.html
These most recent samples were collected from 101 adult deer taken in March and April by DNR personnel as part of an ongoing and intensive CWD surveillance effort. The three CWD-positive deer were collected within the CWD Containment Area located north of U.S. Route 50 in Hampshire County. The laboratory testing was conducted by the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
When CWD was first confirmed in Hampshire County in September 2005, the DNR immediately implemented a response plan. The DNR has been engaged in intensive CWD surveillance efforts designed to determine the distribution and prevalence of the disease. These efforts have included carefully planned and coordinated deer collections within Hampshire County by CWD deer collection teams.
“These deer collection teams have continued their efforts to gather appropriate samples within the surveillance area to accurately determine the prevalence and distribution of CWD,” said DNR Director Frank Jezioro.
“Our initial CWD surveillance data suggests the disease is located within a relatively small geographic area located near Slanesville,” said Jezioro. “This is encouraging news. Based upon these findings, we have implemented appropriate management actions designed to control the spread of this disease, prevent further introduction of the disease and possibly eliminate the disease from the state,” Jezioro added.
Source: http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_132093832.html
Friday, May 11, 2007
DELAWARE NEWS: 269 Deer Shy of a Record Harvest
The numbers are in from last season's deer harvest in Delaware and the total was the second highest in state history.
Hunters bagged 14-thousand-401 deer -- that's 268 fewer than the record set in the 2004-2005 season.
More than 6-thousand of the deer were killed during the 8-day shotgun season in November.
The entire deer season spanned five months from September through January.
This was the second year for the new January handgun season. The handgun kills this year numbered 135, compared to 114 the previous year.
Source: http://www.fw.delaware.gov/Info/DeerInfo.htm.
Hunters bagged 14-thousand-401 deer -- that's 268 fewer than the record set in the 2004-2005 season.
More than 6-thousand of the deer were killed during the 8-day shotgun season in November.
The entire deer season spanned five months from September through January.
This was the second year for the new January handgun season. The handgun kills this year numbered 135, compared to 114 the previous year.
Source: http://www.fw.delaware.gov/Info/DeerInfo.htm.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
MINNESOTA NEWS: Lyme, Anaplasmosis and Babesiosis, Oh My!
You probably already know deer ticks can spread lyme disease; but now, there's new concerns about the tiny insects. Health officials are issuing a warning that deer ticks can spread more than just lyme disease.
Minnesota's Health Department says deer ticks can also spread human anaplasmosis and babesiosis. Symptoms of both diseases include high fever, muscle aches, chills, and headaches.
Health officials say they expect the number of people infected to go up. The elderly, or those with compromised immune systems, are the most vulnerable for infection.
Source: http://wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=6478976&nav=KoJE
Minnesota's Health Department says deer ticks can also spread human anaplasmosis and babesiosis. Symptoms of both diseases include high fever, muscle aches, chills, and headaches.
Health officials say they expect the number of people infected to go up. The elderly, or those with compromised immune systems, are the most vulnerable for infection.
Source: http://wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=6478976&nav=KoJE
Friday, April 27, 2007
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS: More Deer Behaving Badly
New Jersey- A deer became an unexpected guest at a Gloucester County hair salon when it slammed through a glass window.
The deer launched itself head-first through the window of Salon Leezae in Franklin Township at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday while the salon was packed with customers.
Surveillance cameras in the salon captured video of the animal leaping over a customer before landing in the lobby. After flailing around for a few seconds, the deer made a grand exit, jumping back out the gaping hole it left in the window.
"I just couldn’t believe it; we really were in shock," store owner Lisa Vicheto-Scapellato said.
Lisa's daughter and her friend, in the salon for 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day,' had a front seat view and said at first they thought it was a car because the crash was so loud.
"No one would think that the deer would just jump right through the window," Lisa's daughter said.
"He was kicking all over when he was right by the front and he kicked glass everywhere and it hit me on my arm," she said.
"Right away, I am like 'who do we call, who do we call?' I am thinking of animal control, because we are worried about the deer after we knew that all the human beings were okay," Lisa said.
Lisa's daughter had to get two stitches but luckily there were no other serious injuries.
The deer was last seen fleeing the salon, heading towards Delsea Drive and into the nearby woods where witnesses believe it came from.
Michigan -- Officers used a Taser to subdue a whitetail deer that jumped through a window into an apartment in downtown Owosso Thursday morning.
The 140-pound doe ran through the apartment, knocking things over, before the two men inside closed it in a bathroom, Deputy Chief Mike Rau said.
The officers immobilized the animal with a Taser until state Department of Natural Resources officers sedated it and carried it out of the building, Rau said. The deer suffered injuries and was later destroyed, he said.
Source:
http://cbs3.com/topstories/local_story_116234528.html
http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2007/04/deer_jumps_into_apartment_wind.html
The deer launched itself head-first through the window of Salon Leezae in Franklin Township at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday while the salon was packed with customers.
Surveillance cameras in the salon captured video of the animal leaping over a customer before landing in the lobby. After flailing around for a few seconds, the deer made a grand exit, jumping back out the gaping hole it left in the window.
"I just couldn’t believe it; we really were in shock," store owner Lisa Vicheto-Scapellato said.
Lisa's daughter and her friend, in the salon for 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day,' had a front seat view and said at first they thought it was a car because the crash was so loud.
"No one would think that the deer would just jump right through the window," Lisa's daughter said.
"He was kicking all over when he was right by the front and he kicked glass everywhere and it hit me on my arm," she said.
"Right away, I am like 'who do we call, who do we call?' I am thinking of animal control, because we are worried about the deer after we knew that all the human beings were okay," Lisa said.
Lisa's daughter had to get two stitches but luckily there were no other serious injuries.
The deer was last seen fleeing the salon, heading towards Delsea Drive and into the nearby woods where witnesses believe it came from.
Michigan -- Officers used a Taser to subdue a whitetail deer that jumped through a window into an apartment in downtown Owosso Thursday morning.
The 140-pound doe ran through the apartment, knocking things over, before the two men inside closed it in a bathroom, Deputy Chief Mike Rau said.
The officers immobilized the animal with a Taser until state Department of Natural Resources officers sedated it and carried it out of the building, Rau said. The deer suffered injuries and was later destroyed, he said.
Source:
http://cbs3.com/topstories/local_story_116234528.html
http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2007/04/deer_jumps_into_apartment_wind.html
Thursday, April 26, 2007
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS: Deer Behaving Badly
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania:
Hoof prints in the mulch and flower beds, a bent railing, and traces of glass were the only visual reminders left behind after three deer took a stroll through an Adams County retirement home Wednesday morning.
At about 10:30 a.m., three deer entered the west entrance of the Cross Keys Village – The Brethren Home Community through an automatic door and wandered through several hallways before leaving, said Frank Buhrman, director of communications and public relations.
"It was over quickly. We're just extraordinarily fortunate it was without incident," Buhrman said.
Villanova, Pennsylvania
Two deer entered Moulden Hall on West Campus this Sunday, causing damage to the residence hall and wreaking havoc at a student barbeque. Students alerted Public Safety of the incident.
"[We responded] to a report of a live deer roaming inside the building," Public Safety Senior Investigator Jim Conway said.
At approximately 7:45 p.m., the animals entered the building through the door closest to Klekotka Hall. Resident Assistants held a barbeque for the residents of West Campus from 4 to 7 p.m., and students propped open the door as they moved in and out of the residence hall.
Five public safety officers, including a sergeant who served as shift supervisor, reported to the scene to find the deer on the ground floor in the hallway closest to Klekotka Hall. The officers proceeded to ensure that all of the doors to Moulden Hall were secured and that all students cleared out of the way.
The Public Safety officers then called Radnor Police, hoping that they would have animal tranquilizers, Conway said.
Radnor Police did not have any animal tranquilizers to offer Public Safety, but two Radnor police officers did report to the scene.
The officers worked together and "forced the deer out of the open lobby door," Conway said. The deer were not injured.
Rogersville, Tennessee
Police aren't looking for a suspect who broke through an elderly Rogersville woman's bedroom window Wednesday morning and trashed her apartment.
But the suspect's wanted poster can likely be seen at any outdoor sporting goods store.
Madge Webster, 79, said Wednesday that "by the grace of God" she was sleeping on her couch Wednesday shortly before 1 a.m. when a deer crashed through her bedroom window, landing on her bed.
There's no telling how badly Webster might have been injured had she been under the covers as the hooves stomped across her bed.
The sound of breaking glass startled Webster awake at her apartment at 970 Woodlawn Ave.
At first she thought it might have been her grandson, who smokes outside. But the intruder's identity became apparent when an adult deer stormed through her bedroom door, bouncing off of walls and furniture into the kitchen and dining room area.
"It was just the Lord's will because it came through my bedroom window, across my bed, and I'm glad I wasn't in it," Webster told the Times-News. "I looked up and saw this thing, and I didn't know what in the world it was. I said, ‘Oh dear God what is that?' and I jumped up right quick.
"It was climbing the walls. There's hair all over the walls. It got up on the tables. All my collectibles were destroyed. I just happened to go open the door, and when I did it ran out through the storm door."
Sources:
http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_5755909
http://media.www.villanovan.com/media/storage/paper581/news/2007/04/26/News/Deer-Invade.West.Campus-2880421.shtml
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=3754086
Hoof prints in the mulch and flower beds, a bent railing, and traces of glass were the only visual reminders left behind after three deer took a stroll through an Adams County retirement home Wednesday morning.
At about 10:30 a.m., three deer entered the west entrance of the Cross Keys Village – The Brethren Home Community through an automatic door and wandered through several hallways before leaving, said Frank Buhrman, director of communications and public relations.
"It was over quickly. We're just extraordinarily fortunate it was without incident," Buhrman said.
Villanova, Pennsylvania
Two deer entered Moulden Hall on West Campus this Sunday, causing damage to the residence hall and wreaking havoc at a student barbeque. Students alerted Public Safety of the incident.
"[We responded] to a report of a live deer roaming inside the building," Public Safety Senior Investigator Jim Conway said.
At approximately 7:45 p.m., the animals entered the building through the door closest to Klekotka Hall. Resident Assistants held a barbeque for the residents of West Campus from 4 to 7 p.m., and students propped open the door as they moved in and out of the residence hall.
Five public safety officers, including a sergeant who served as shift supervisor, reported to the scene to find the deer on the ground floor in the hallway closest to Klekotka Hall. The officers proceeded to ensure that all of the doors to Moulden Hall were secured and that all students cleared out of the way.
The Public Safety officers then called Radnor Police, hoping that they would have animal tranquilizers, Conway said.
Radnor Police did not have any animal tranquilizers to offer Public Safety, but two Radnor police officers did report to the scene.
The officers worked together and "forced the deer out of the open lobby door," Conway said. The deer were not injured.
Rogersville, Tennessee
Police aren't looking for a suspect who broke through an elderly Rogersville woman's bedroom window Wednesday morning and trashed her apartment.
But the suspect's wanted poster can likely be seen at any outdoor sporting goods store.
Madge Webster, 79, said Wednesday that "by the grace of God" she was sleeping on her couch Wednesday shortly before 1 a.m. when a deer crashed through her bedroom window, landing on her bed.
There's no telling how badly Webster might have been injured had she been under the covers as the hooves stomped across her bed.
The sound of breaking glass startled Webster awake at her apartment at 970 Woodlawn Ave.
At first she thought it might have been her grandson, who smokes outside. But the intruder's identity became apparent when an adult deer stormed through her bedroom door, bouncing off of walls and furniture into the kitchen and dining room area.
"It was just the Lord's will because it came through my bedroom window, across my bed, and I'm glad I wasn't in it," Webster told the Times-News. "I looked up and saw this thing, and I didn't know what in the world it was. I said, ‘Oh dear God what is that?' and I jumped up right quick.
"It was climbing the walls. There's hair all over the walls. It got up on the tables. All my collectibles were destroyed. I just happened to go open the door, and when I did it ran out through the storm door."
Sources:
http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_5755909
http://media.www.villanovan.com/media/storage/paper581/news/2007/04/26/News/Deer-Invade.West.Campus-2880421.shtml
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=3754086
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
PENNSYLVANIA NEWS: Game Commission Board of Directors Vs. Biologists
Rooney's two cents: Hey Thomas Boop--of course you would never run a business this way. Then again, (1) this is not a business, which is a good thing, because (2) the price of deer tags does not include many of the economic costs of deer damage, such as auto collisions and medical treatment, crop and landscape damage, disease transmission to humans and livestock, and damage to forests and forestry. I'm all for your proposal to fix the "fatal flaws" in the deer management program if you are all for adding these externalities into the price of tags. I think hunters might balk at the $200-300 price per tag, though (based on some back of the envelope calculations).
HARRISBURG, Pa. - The president of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's board of directors said Tuesday the agency's controversial deer-management plan is "fatally flawed."
"We would never run a business the way we're running our deer-management program," board president Thomas E. Boop said.
Just a few hours after Boop delivered his stinging criticism of the program, the agency biologists responsible for that program recommended continuing it with virtually no changes for the upcoming 2007-08 hunting season.
"We're going to base our information and recommendations on the best science that we can and on the best data that we can," said Cal DuBrock, head of the Game Commission's Bureau of Wildlife Management.
Tuesday was the first day of the Game Commission's annual, two-day spring meeting, at which hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for the state's game animals are set for the following fall and winter. The commissioners will vote today to set those seasons and bag limits.
As has been the case over the past decade, deer and deer management proved to be the most discussed and most controversial topics of the meeting's first day.
Hunters lined up to tell the commissioners the deer herd across the state has been decimated by years of overhunting.
"To stay the course (with the management program) would adversely affect the sport of hunting for all ages in our state," said East Hempfield Township resident Charles Bolgiano, who is legislative liaison for Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania.
Likewise, forest managers and people interested in seeing diversified wildlife and plant life lined up to encourage the commissioners not to alter the course of the deer-management program.
"We are finally seeing signs of recovery in forest regeneration," said Jim Chapman, a forest manager who works for a lumber company in Warren County.
Wildlife biologist Chris Rosenberry, who heads the Game Commission's deer-management division, agreed with Chapman's assessment, and said now is not the time to reverse course on the program.
The health of the state's deer and the health of the state's forest, Rosenberry said, indicate the Game Commission must keep up the current amount of hunting pressure applied to the deer herd.
As a result, Rosenberry recommended the commissioners vote today to maintain last year's slate of hunting seasons, with the exception of extending it in part of the southeast region, where deer numbers are particularly high.
He also recommended the commissioners allocate 6,000 more antlerless deer licenses than they issued last year, for a total of 865,000 licenses.
The Game Commission controls the state's deer population by regulating the number of female deer that are killed each year.
Each license allows a hunter to kill one antlerless deer, which is either a doe, a buck that's too young to have grown antlers or an older buck that has lost its antlers.
State Rep. Sam Rohrer of Berks County, who is the minority chairman of the House Game & Fisheries Committee, said more people from across the state complain to him about the deer-management program than any other issue.
Hunters are complaining to their legislators about the lack of deer, Rohrer said, because the hunters believe the Game Commission isn't listening to their opinions.
Rohrer said the Game Commission's data regarding the state's deer herd sometimes contradicts itself. He recommended the agency submit to an independent audit of its facts and figures.
Boop supported Rohrer's proposal, saying he "can't make any sense out of the data I've seen."
Rohrer said he believes the Legislature would help finance and facilitate the audit if the Game Commission would submit to it.
And he recommended the agency suspend all antlerless deer hunting by adults during the annual two-week firearms deer season this fall until the audit is conducted.
"All I'm asking for is a little bit of a break in the program so that we can focus on the data collection," Rohrer said.
Source: http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/202993
HARRISBURG, Pa. - The president of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's board of directors said Tuesday the agency's controversial deer-management plan is "fatally flawed."
"We would never run a business the way we're running our deer-management program," board president Thomas E. Boop said.
Just a few hours after Boop delivered his stinging criticism of the program, the agency biologists responsible for that program recommended continuing it with virtually no changes for the upcoming 2007-08 hunting season.
"We're going to base our information and recommendations on the best science that we can and on the best data that we can," said Cal DuBrock, head of the Game Commission's Bureau of Wildlife Management.
Tuesday was the first day of the Game Commission's annual, two-day spring meeting, at which hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for the state's game animals are set for the following fall and winter. The commissioners will vote today to set those seasons and bag limits.
As has been the case over the past decade, deer and deer management proved to be the most discussed and most controversial topics of the meeting's first day.
Hunters lined up to tell the commissioners the deer herd across the state has been decimated by years of overhunting.
"To stay the course (with the management program) would adversely affect the sport of hunting for all ages in our state," said East Hempfield Township resident Charles Bolgiano, who is legislative liaison for Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania.
Likewise, forest managers and people interested in seeing diversified wildlife and plant life lined up to encourage the commissioners not to alter the course of the deer-management program.
"We are finally seeing signs of recovery in forest regeneration," said Jim Chapman, a forest manager who works for a lumber company in Warren County.
Wildlife biologist Chris Rosenberry, who heads the Game Commission's deer-management division, agreed with Chapman's assessment, and said now is not the time to reverse course on the program.
The health of the state's deer and the health of the state's forest, Rosenberry said, indicate the Game Commission must keep up the current amount of hunting pressure applied to the deer herd.
As a result, Rosenberry recommended the commissioners vote today to maintain last year's slate of hunting seasons, with the exception of extending it in part of the southeast region, where deer numbers are particularly high.
He also recommended the commissioners allocate 6,000 more antlerless deer licenses than they issued last year, for a total of 865,000 licenses.
The Game Commission controls the state's deer population by regulating the number of female deer that are killed each year.
Each license allows a hunter to kill one antlerless deer, which is either a doe, a buck that's too young to have grown antlers or an older buck that has lost its antlers.
State Rep. Sam Rohrer of Berks County, who is the minority chairman of the House Game & Fisheries Committee, said more people from across the state complain to him about the deer-management program than any other issue.
Hunters are complaining to their legislators about the lack of deer, Rohrer said, because the hunters believe the Game Commission isn't listening to their opinions.
Rohrer said the Game Commission's data regarding the state's deer herd sometimes contradicts itself. He recommended the agency submit to an independent audit of its facts and figures.
Boop supported Rohrer's proposal, saying he "can't make any sense out of the data I've seen."
Rohrer said he believes the Legislature would help finance and facilitate the audit if the Game Commission would submit to it.
And he recommended the agency suspend all antlerless deer hunting by adults during the annual two-week firearms deer season this fall until the audit is conducted.
"All I'm asking for is a little bit of a break in the program so that we can focus on the data collection," Rohrer said.
Source: http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/202993
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
