Like many of you, I've given up my garden because of the abundance of wildlife in Amberley Village. Truly, as saddened as I was to succumb to the reality that the deer were getting more produce out of the garden than I was, I love nothing more than to have breakfast while looking out my full wall of kitchen windows at the deer and birds who make their home in my backyard. Last June, we even had a fawn born in the backyard and that was very cool and exciting!
And yes, I am concerned about herds of deer nonchalantly crossing the street without a care for the driver of oncoming vehicles. In my own neighborhood, I worry about drivers who aren't as familiar with these beautiful animals who are also residents of Amberley Village. Without our experience, they don't know that at any moment a deer, or most likely several deer, will cross the road in front of them while they are driving at a high rate of speed for the neighborhood. My sons witnessed a car/deercollision on Ridge Road while driving to Walnut Hills early one morning, and it affected my son Adam deeply.
But, I don't know whether a deer cull actually has any real impact on the herd. I do know that it's fairly expensive, coming in at over $3,500 for last year's cull. A cheaper method would certainly be welcome. Currently, we pay $61 per deer for processing and the meat is donated to the Freestore. Maybe a resident would like to pay for the processing, as it would be a tax-deductible donation. Or, maybe we could allow hunters for a day. I don't know the answer, but I am continuing to research the issue. If you have a suggestion, please leave it in the comments. I'm definitely interested in your thoughts.
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I hear how beautiful our deer are, and I also hear from many of the same people that there are too many dear. Concerning the deer cull, we have to perform the cull to reduce the amount of increase in our deer population. We are not killing all the deer, nor are we eliminating the growth. With the cull, the deer are still going to increase in number. Thanks for asking our opinion. Carl Fritschi
ReplyDeleteI believe the deer population needs to be kept in check. Several years ago my son had a car accident in a nearby community trying to avoid a deer. He was traveling at a slow speed and swerved to avoid the deer, but hit a utility pole. His passenger suffered an eye injury and it was very traumatic.
ReplyDeleteThe overpopulation of deer is problematic not just for the inconvenience to human residents, but also for for resident wildlife. The damage done to the understory of the forestation eliminates/exposes habitat for a variety of of other species. Residents who provide feed for the deer population do not serve to alleviate this problem, but rather exacerbates it. Hunting, or "culling" could serve to keep the deer population within the parameters of health for all Amberley residents.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious as to whether it is possible to open French Park and Amberley Green to bow hunters for a day. Obviously, the parks would have to be closed to other users. I'm unfamiliar with hunting laws in Ohio and, for whatever reason, I am unable to open the link to the Ohio Dept. of Wildlife Resources. Thank you for your comments. Natalie
ReplyDeleteI believe that the method used by Indian Hill is the expedient way to go...our police,I realize like the overtime for the hunt, but qualified bow hunters in the park and in our "green" can do this...as the kill of close to 300 in Indian Hill shows. It is time to consider the alternatives to our expensive past methods.
ReplyDeleteI have wondered why we were paying for the police to cull the deer when many hunters would love the chance to hunt deer for free. This would be the most cost effective method after some rules were set up to eliminate the chance of injury to others, etc.
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