I have been to lake livingston during the deer season here in Texas, its amazing how many more deer there are in these nieghborhoods right there in the front lawn when the bows and guns come out of the closet.
Texas parks and wild life officials view this as overpopulation when in fact its just accepted by the deer as a sanctuary...there are plans to kill as many as 300 or more as a way to control the numbers...I call it a slaughter , plain and simple. Some of these deer will eat of your hand...Opinions?
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Rico, The fastest Bow in Texas.
They regularily have city/suburb dear kills around here too. With housing encroaching on what used to be their habitat, I see it as sort of cruel. It ain't like you ever heard of a deer mauling a child - hence their "nusiance" claim I always hear is a bit far fetched.
ricoace; to answer your question, i'd say it was both population control and a cruel slaughter. A slaughter that the numnuts who are feeding the deer will have caused.
Good to see you back Rico. I'd call it a harvest if the deer are that tame perhaps but certainly not a slaughter. Not all of the deer in the suburbs are tame and it is still the same shooting challenge for a bow hunter. Hence I would say it is a harvest as opposed to a slaughter IMHO.
It may be sanctuary for the deer and it may just be that they are grazing where the food is plentiful. We have a lot of deer in my area that stay close to the suburbs because they have nearby cover for their beds and they can't beat the amount of food that is regularly maintained by homeowners--All those yummy flowers, shrubs, etc.
Tardfarmer, something you may not have considered is that those deer coming into the suburbs do attract mountain lions and they do attack children, etc. Just a thought to consider but in my area, we have mountain lion sightings in the same suburbs where we have lots of deer.
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Jesus Christ--The reason for the season!
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.
If you're certain you know everything, there's little opportunity to learn anything.
As Tard states, locally we have selective or population control kills in parks and other areas where the deer normally find safe habitat.
Is it necessary or cruel? That depends on who you are and where you live.
If the deer are eating all your scrubs and plants they are a nuisance and it can become costly.
If one steps out in front of your vehicle when you"™re doing 45 mph in the evening and your vehicle damage cost you a small fortune or you get hurt they are a danger.
And the power behind a lot of this is the Auto Insurance companies who whine like babies until they jack up your collision premiums.
(ever notice, once the deer collisons go down, premiums don't. Sort of like politicians and taxes)
It breaks my heart to have all of the local habitat disappearing so fast but it is people working hard for better lives, better home and better place to live. I can't blame them. They want to enjoy their lives and be safe in as many ways as possible. They also want to protect their investments.
As hunters, those of us that are hunters, argue population control all the time to justify in part our sport.
If it is none properly, within limits and the meat is put to good use it may very well be the right thing to do.
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Now you have to picture a combination of PeeWEE Herman and Wally Cox but with less muscle tone, trying to be intimidating None of this is funny! Message edited by Cougar Mag -- 1/7/2005 1:16:42 AM >/b]
Tardfarmer, something you may not have considered is that those deer coming into the suburbs do attract mountain lions and they do attack children
Mountain lions? Around here you may see the occasional ground squirrel but mountain lions? I think the libbies in Madison outlawed them years ago......
If one steps out in front of your vehicle when you"™re doing 45 mph in the evening and your vehicle damage cost you a small fortune or you get hurt they are a danger.
As god is my witness logs, My wife was driving her car 2 blocks from our home when 4 doe leaped out of the neighbor's corn field and head butted the rear quarter panel of her car.
She was talking nonsense about killer dear etc. for days... I laughed my arse off. I pounded the dent out by hand but left the hair embedded in the moulding etc. -- sort of a voodoo charm to ward off other deer...
population control or a cruel slaughter?
