Controlling the deer population

Here lately, driving home is like playing russian roulette. At some point on the way home everyday, I'm confronted by a deer with a death wish.

It’s a predominately back road/ 2 lane road problem for me....but even Interstates are swarming with deer now.

The most I ever saw, was coming thru Birmingham a couple of years ago.....I swear, standing right along the interstate were more deer than I'd ever seen in my life. There were easily 20-25 of them.

The scary part is, I've conditioned myself to avoid swerving and "take the hit" since technically it's safer...but my real fear is someone in an oncoming lane freaking out if one crosses, then swerving into my lane and hitting me head on.

 

Nuke 'em all. It is the only logical solution. : )

(I do know what your talking about though. In Minnesota we have a problem though not as big as yours because we have lots of hunters all a-going about)

 

cetch zeem & send zeem oufer here-a!

 

well, this time of year is always crazy with deer. I had 15 of them in my front yard this morning. Just be thankful its deer you are dealing with, not bull moose or elk!

A family friend hit 6 elk at once last year. He was on a icy back road, came over a hill and a herd was standing in the middle of the road licking the salt. He slammed on the brakes and ended up going into a spin. Did basically a 360, connecting with 6 elk while spinning. He walked away with a few cuts and bruises, but it could have been a whole hell of a lot worse. The SUV he was driving was basically a furry, bloody ball.

 

Deer taste good.

 

Shoot more deer?
You could nuke them, like wars said, but that raises the whole "save the trees" bit.

Hmm... Import more lions. I think that's about the only way.

 

Be careful out there & get your brakes and headlights checked frequently... that's all you can really do. The deer were there before the road anyhow. If there were more natural predators (i.e. wolves) in the area, there would likely be less deer. Nature is a very delicate balance...

 

I think maybe it's time for people to do a little deer hunting in their areas where it is leagal. That would be kind to the deer because the fewer deer the more food for them. I have not eaten venesin, but I hear it's ok but gamey. I would hate to shoot anything just for sport, but if it solves a problem and you can use the meat or whatever, then it should be done.

 

it's too bad that we've unbalanced nature so profoundly. the deer's natural predators are nowhere to be seen anymore....

 

A lot of people in my state hunt deer, so I don't have a problem with it.

 

I am not opposed to hunting as long as the meat is used. I like deer meat but I also appreciate the fact that such a large animal still roams the area.

 

Yeah, as long as the meat is going to feed someone I think it's acceptable. I've never understoof what it really means for the deer population to be "out of control" though. They probably think the same thing about us were they capable of that complex thought.

 

Do a no bag limit open season on does. Subsidize the processing of the meat to feed the poor/prisoners/zoos whatever. I have planted 100's of trees on my farm and deer wipe out a major percentage of the sapplings.

 

I will let you send some to my freezer!

 

when your on those back country roads try using only your running lights. deer freeze in startlement in the glare of headlights, the shadows thrown frighten them more than the sound of your engine. and stop asap if you see a singular deer because there's likely more following.

too bad my stupid species has despatched the deer herds natural predators.

 

Wait, 20-30 of them? TWENTY TO THIRTY!?? This is ALL? Bloody hell what do you expect!? Sorry but how many GODDAMN PEOPLE are there? How many CARS? And youre complaining about 20-30 deer?

No way am i going to say they should be hunted. No freakin way. Sorry everyone, but they have just as much right to be there. And the roads are made so much more dangerous because there are so many bloody cars on it, most of which have no reason to be there. People could easily take buses or trains

As for the risk factor, research getting a bus or train. A train would obviously avoid this problem entirely, and buses routes are usually well planned to avoid such phenomena...and then you dont have to worry about the driving, and youre also making one less car on the road and therefore less risk

This may sound extreme but God, these are our CREATURES. And mostly the difference between public transport and car is just convenience. Nothing like that is worth sacrificing a sinlge deer for

 

I don't know about anywhere else but in colorado we have a ton of deer every where. Its hard to drive 5 miles outside of denver without seeing at least a few. The poster above keeps talking about busses and trains solving the problem, but around here it would seem that building all kinds of railroads in what open space is left for the animals now seems like a bad idea. I work on trucks and busses for a living and they hit deer and elk all the time.

 

Overlarge Deer populations overgraze the understory of the forest, altering the
natural environment. The forest floor is now open with no brush. Resembling
more a park than a natural environment.
Tree Seedlings are eaten before growing, the forest is thining out.
Certain tree varieties which are favored food are not reproducing, this combined with specific tree diseases are limiting biodiversity.

The Forest is full of hikers so Hunting is not practical.

I hear that the Cougar/Panther/Mountain lion is moving eastward from The Rocky Mountains. I wonder how soon untill they reach New York State ?

 

That’s it in a nutshell. Cougars used to keep the deer population balanced around here but because they are feared they are either shoot or relocated.

 

Cougar attacked a hiker in California on Thursday.