Deer Cull Causes Controversy

Cute? Or Becoming a Real Pest?

The current 'trial balloons' being flown by those in government suggesting a deer cull is needed to control ever increasing deer herds in cities, is bringing opposing responses.

There are those who love to see a little bit of nature outside their front door, and others trying to grow gardens who would gladly kill all of them.

There is at least one facebook group now who are opposed to the deer cull and the expected emotional response is predictable. The thought that man should intervene to reduce herd numbers is distasteful to many, who seem to ignore that it is man's intervention that is creating the problem in the first place.

A short time ago local authorities were advising of how deer being fed unnatural diets were simply becoming sickly and dying as a result. There was a report of a dead deer in someone's garage which apparently had met just such an end.

On the up side, it is nice to see a bit of nature in our city, of course cougars and bears are also a part of that nature and I doubt we want to see them wandering about our streets. The deer do pose traffic hazards and in rutting season the bucks can get quite aggressive also. It is also likely that cougar will be attracted to their natural food source. Not long ago there was  report of a cougar eating it's kill (bambi) in someone's front yard in the Departure Bay area.

There is bound to be heated discussion on both sides of this issue but perhaps one solution would be to ban feeding deer and simply let them fend for themselves.