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Misinformation

There is a lot of opposition to and information about deer culls.  As I find other sites I will link to them here.

•   A Deer Friendly web listing that contains a staggering number of deer culls conducted at enormous cost being conducted today. Make no mistake this is big business not deer management!

•   https://deerassociation.com/qdm-works-culling-doesnt/

•   Outdoor Life article

•   https://www.stoptheshoot.org/

•   https://www.veganlifemag.com/deer-under-attack/

•   https://www.humanesociety.org/sites/default/files/docs/HSUS_Deer-Advocate-Toolkit.pdf

•   https://animalrightschannel.com/2019/03/06/five-ways-you-could-stop-deer-culls/

•   https://www.change.org/p/port-stephens-council-stop-the-deer-cull-in-raymond-terrace

•   https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-we-really-need-to-cull-deer-herds/

•   https://www.hshv.org/environmental-experts-to-discuss-why-ann-arbor-was-smart-to-stop-the-deer-cull/

•   https://americanforestmanagement.com/about-us/news/does-culling-work-in-free-range-whitetail-deer-management/55?American+Forester+Magazine=

There is a lot of misleading and in my opinion intentional misinformation disseminated to support White Tail Deer Culls. The facts are published but manipulated in a manner to lead one to the wrong conclusion.

Today's style of hunting where elevated blinds feeding plots and many other advantages to the hunter puts the deer into such a disadvantaged point that culls should not be necessary. Prior to the 1990's most of this was against the law and hunters had to scout the area to be hunted and figure out where and when deer were likely to be in a specific place. Then they had to shoot from the ground with the only camouflage being natural growth. What is called hunting today is actually just shooting.

Take Lyme Disease for one example. It is inferred that the deer spread this disease. But the truth is that the White Tail Deer is immune to the disease, does not catch it, and cannot spread it. It is true that a tick can hitch a ride on the deer, as it can any other animal including you. So the only deer that is likely to spread a tick to humans is a dead deer. The CDC reports 18 confirmed cases of Lyme Disease in Mason County from 2000 to 2018. That is one confirmed case per year, hardly an epidemic or justification to murder the deer. Almost everything the DNR publishes to justify deer culls has the same veracity as what they say about Lyme disease. Many times even less credible.

Deer Herd Reduction - Lethal deer management methods are used to reduce the deer population in a given area.

Hunting and sharpshooting are methods often used to reduce or control deer populations.

The following options are considerations to be measured in order to determine if a cull is warranted.

 a. Health Issues (human and deer populations) Most cases are provable bogus from published data about the issues they site. 

b. Disease outbreaks in deer population/health of herd/reduction in size of deer

c. Documented local case (s) of Lyme disease in humans

d. Deer Population Density - upward trends in deer population estimates "Upward trends will actually reduce the spread of disease not increase it"

e. Public Safety - upward trends in car/deer accidents If you look at the published date these statistics are essentially constant over the last several years

f. Deer being Domesticated – loitering in yards, not scared by noise or movements This simply is just not true, while the deer are more likely to tolerate humans being in site they are rarely anything close to domesticated without a serious effort on the part of a human.

g. Environmental Damage - bio-diversity, long-term ecosystem health. If this is a crime then Humans are due for mass executions animals rarely do this only humans.

h. Upward Trends in Valid Deer Damage Complaints. What about the larger number of citizens that want the deer left alone. It appeases no one cares what they think.

Implementation of the Urban Deer Management Plan To aid in the implementation of the Urban Deer Management Plan, each spring the City Manager’s office will review data for deer management, including but not limited to educational material, deer population numbers (current and projected), vehicle-deer accidents, citizen comments and an annual census. Any or all legal lethal methods available (including sharpshooting or bow and arrow culling) may be utilized after the City Council has deemed a herd reduction necessary.

D. Research and Statistics Used in the Creation of the Urban Deer Management Plan The following research and statistics were reviewed and deliberated as a part of the decision making process for the Task Force.

1. Significant input from Citizens in four public forums as well as open meeting input.

2. Local Traffic Statistics of car/deer accidents – There has been a steady average of 5 per year in the City. 7 occurred in the first 10 months of 2007.

3. Lyme Disease Information – two cases occurred in Ottawa County in 06/07, however they cases were not locally contracted.

4. Helicopter Deer Count on February 14, 2007 – 156 deer

5. 2003 DNR estimate of 30 deer per sq mi in Ottawa County

6. 1996 DNR goal for deer population is 17 per sq mi in Ottawa County

7. Martinez Natural Resource Survey at Kitchel-Lindquist Dunes E. Future Research Necessary to Maintain the Urban Deer Management Plan The Task Force recommended that future research continue in order to make sure the urban deer population is kept in check, and under the biological and social carrying capacities. These endeavors would include: 1. Annual census of deer 2. Monitoring the results from the Exclusion

A Last changed: 03/17/24