You HAVE to be joking me!!!!!![:@][:@] What plantet are these people from?? I'm sure this will grow the herd back. I give up I'm moving.[:@]

Year-Round Deer Hunting Proposed
Last Update: 3/31/2004 6:57:29 AM


(Albany, NY) AP 03/31/04 -- A legislative proposal would allow year-round deer hunting on New York farmland to reduce crop damage from foraging deer.

A Cornell University study estimates that deer do some $58 million in damage annually to New York crops. Assemblyman Clifford Crouch says current state programs to shoot deer on farmland are not adequate to prevent significant losses caused by the animals.

According to the Cornell study, hay, alfalfa and grain crops are most susceptible to deer damage. The animals also damage nursery products and fruit trees. Farmers reported the worst damage on Long Island and in the lower Hudson Valley.

Michael Markarian of the Fund for Animals says many states are liberalizing hunting rules to try to reduce deer herds. But he says the efforts often backfire because deer respond by increasing their reproduction rate.

Markarian's group favors non-hunting means of keeping deer away from crops, such as fencing and repellants.