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Wednesday, March 11, 2015

People Who Feed Deer

People Who Feed Deer create problems both for their neighbors & for the deer.  After having had to keep my dog indoors for almost a year because of the increased tick population in our area caused by roving deer, I’m writing this after talking with a pest control technician who verified what I’d suspected.  Namely, that the ticks (Ixodes scapularis),  plaguing dogs are being extensively spread by the deer.  These are the same large ‘hoofed ruminants’ who have led to the ‘totaling’ of two friends’ cars and ‘inflicted’ personal injuries.  [ Note: Nationwide, there are annually 1½+ million reported car crashes and an unspecified number of human fatalities and injuries / and this doesn’t include the suffering experienced by the deer]. 

Deer have become pests that destroy young native trees and bushes as well as devour yard plants (their “habitat destruction” of the understory needed by other flora and fauna is notorious).  And let’s not forget that deer serve as hosts for Lyme disease, West Nile virus, ‘blue tongue’, etcetera…. anytime there’s an increased population density of a species, disease will serve to help limit their numbers.  Starvation is also an ‘ironic’ and negative long term effect of humans feeding deer.  The deer population in the US is 40+ times greater than it was in the days of old when natural predators kept their population in check and forests were more prevalent (modern conditions provide them with more brush upon which to forage). Note: A lack of predators allows the deer to graze things closer to the ‘nib’ and helps to decrease forest growth.

So, if you’re buying a bag of cracked corn at the grocery store to take home for your “pet” deer & someone like me is giving you an “Oh No” kind of look, remember that deer are wild creatures… and you’re only compounding the variety of problems experienced because of their overpopulation.  If you want to attract wildlife to watch, then water the birds… leave the deer and squirrels alone / they’re better off without human ministrations.

Putin: A Scary Individual