Deer Season Extension
Burr
Join Date: 2002-11-19 Member: 9358Members
Join Date: 2002-11-19 Member: 9358Members
in Discussions
<div class="IPBDescription">Is it really that bad?</div> Just saw a report on NBC nightly news about the number of highway related accidents and fatalities related to deer on the highway. Don't ask me for numbers, because I don't rembmer, I just rembmer that the amount of money spent on repairs to deer related accidents is in the billions. Now, deer season (gun) i believe is one to two weeks (some years they extend it a week). Now, I personally don't see a shortage in deer. I have been in a deer related accident 4 times (one time it was two deer), each time they did enough damage to require replacement parts and professional mechanics to fix (I can do some repair work, but not much), and I was following the speed limit at least two of those times.
Anyway, I rant on. Another thing is that I live on a family owned farm, and we get enough damage to our crops from deer to get special damage permits that allow us to hunt out of season, and at night, with high powered rifles and spotlights, but only for a certain amout of deer related to the damage.
As I said before, I personally see no shortage on deer to limit them to only 1-2 weeks of gun season. Almost everytime I drive I see at least 2-5. In my opinion, they should extend the gun season to at least a month, maybe two at the most, or extend it all year long for doe (female deer) only, and only a week or two for bucks.
I must also add that I am NOT a hunter, I just hate the stupid things for all the damage they have done.
Ok, thoughts, opinions?
Anyway, I rant on. Another thing is that I live on a family owned farm, and we get enough damage to our crops from deer to get special damage permits that allow us to hunt out of season, and at night, with high powered rifles and spotlights, but only for a certain amout of deer related to the damage.
As I said before, I personally see no shortage on deer to limit them to only 1-2 weeks of gun season. Almost everytime I drive I see at least 2-5. In my opinion, they should extend the gun season to at least a month, maybe two at the most, or extend it all year long for doe (female deer) only, and only a week or two for bucks.
I must also add that I am NOT a hunter, I just hate the stupid things for all the damage they have done.
Ok, thoughts, opinions?
Comments
good, something else that could possibly maul me! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Hell, if you want to be extreme they should let you take on tigers mano y mano at the zoo. ( Hello, Roy)
I personally don't see the big deal about hunting, but I don't care if people do it either. Its just that I think that there are too many of them, and when they start to threaten the family income, you know, our survival, they have to be taken care of.
Hell, if you want to be extreme they should let you take on tigers mano y mano at the zoo. ( Hello, Roy) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Good job on not reading his post. You lose!
I'm not a hunter but hunting is almost as big in Michigan as golf <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo--> I am forever amazed at the level of ignorance and condescension from individuals in non-hunting communities. The great majority of hunters here spend years if not a lifetime studying the land that they hunt. It isn't some weekend hobby "target practice" nonsence. Hunting is a lifestyle.
Still doesnt sound like you even read his post...
Also, the money hunters spend on liscences and equipment is the primary reason deers have any habitiat to live in, and the reason thier population can thrive. Beleive it or not hunters do more for wildlife, nature preserves and "outdoor life" in general than any amount of liberal whining.
He posted that he is for it because, in his opinion, the population is too large. You flamed him.
The current deer population is unsustainably large due to humans having decimated their predators - mountain lions (cougars) and wolves, primarily. Every winter, countless deer starve to death because the land cannot support them in their current numbers. A few years ago, one area of eastern Pennsylvania ran a census of deer and found them in concentrations as high as <b>400 per square mile</b>. In addition, deer can destroy forests; one major source of food for them in winter is tree bark; when enough deer are present in an area, they can completely strip trees of their bark below ~7 feet. A tree that has its bark stripped in a complete ring around its trunk WILL DIE (as trees carry all of their nutrients in the narrow gap between the bark and the wood beneath it).
So yeah, I'm an advocate of deer hunting. It might be true that most hunters enjoy their sport because it makes them feel more manly... so? Frankly, look beyond that and see the vital *service* they provide to the rest of us. A friend of mine's parents have a 10-foot mesh net completely surrounding their rather large and beautiful garden; if they didn't, deer would chew it to the ground in a single night. And these friends live in a suburb, not out in the sticks. That town doesn't allow hunting, to my knowledge... but do you know what they do instead? Hire *sharpshooters* - snipers who sit in blinds up in trees for the sole purpose of killing deer. They're not doing it to feel manly; they're doing it for the paycheck they get from the township. And it's still not enough.
I'd prefer to see predator populations bolstered, but it's not likely with human occupants. Once pets start disappearing, people will complain and fear for their children (rightly so, a baby is a far easier meal than a cat or dog). So we should do what we can instead. We have a duty as the top predator in North America.
<i>* Note: rats, due to their comparatively high intelligence, are actually the best rodents to keep as pets. They can be taught tricks and seldom if ever bite.</i>
Hunting for reasons like this obviously isn't a bad thing; it's ecologically sound plus it's providing some rather good meat (I assume you get venison from deer right?). If someone decides though that they'd love to hunt white rhinos, then that's not on, because that's an endangered species that is in danger of extinction.
Hunting for reasons like this obviously isn't a bad thing; it's ecologically sound plus it's providing some rather good meat (I assume you get venison from deer right?). If someone decides though that they'd love to hunt white rhinos, then that's not on, because that's an endangered species that is in danger of extinction. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
What really infuriates me though - is that friggen american/Euro/even australia tree huggers have a big "save the kangaroo" campaign running. It is well nigh impossible to sell roo meat outside of Australia because people think we are wiping out an endangered species for cash.
I come from Central Queensland (up near the top of the East Coast), and there are more roo's than you can poke a stick at. And they are dying in large numbers, starving to death because they eat themselves out of a habitat. Then they bust into the farmers crops, eat all that. The farmer, having already shot his maximum limit of roughly 200 roos that month is technically not supposed to shoot them for it either.
Is it the same deal with the deers. I've always been under the impression that the deers are somewhat of an endanged species, and I certainly would never consider buying their meat. Have I been a victim of the same green propaganda about deers as many other people in the world have been about roos?
Right. With that out of the way, no, most deer aren't all that endangered. Some species are, but the ones we're talking about do fairly well for themselves.
Oh, and venison is *delicious*.
Marine, I don't know why the greenies harp on about 'roos. I mean koalas, ok, or the Great Barrier Reef but when we've got a species that is eating itself to death something has to be done.
I need to go wash my hands... must... get... clean... <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
I personally don't hunt, not because I'm worried about hurting bambi, but because I don't want it to go to waste. I don't eat the meat, so the only way I'd go out and hunt is if I agreed to give whatever I get to someone who does want the meat.
Until then, I blast away the wild and cunning paper target <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> yarrrrrrr! (you'd be surprised how long you have to wait in a deer stand for paper to come by!)
To solve the problem, I would actually rather see big predatory animals handle it instead of humans but I guess that's nigh impossible. So yeah, even though I'm not a big fan of killing wild animals, in this kind of situation it's a must.
Hehe, unfortunately then we'd have to deal with big predatory animals <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
But around here in MN, the deer are not a problem.
Hunters have to be at least 50 feet from the road to shoot.
only 50...
A lot of idiots track deer that run at the road and fire, even if someone happens to be driving down that road.
I think we should stock those predatory cats rather than let hunters rain .30-06 on drivers
IIRC some cops were using fake deer (with remote controlled head movement) to try and bust hunters that shoot from the road. Some people would shoot 6-7 times in a row!!!! Now, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that a deer will run (if it can) after the 1st shot just from the noise alone! This guy was shooting a stationary dear like 7 times and didn't have a clue. (and didn't notice the cop pulling up behind him).
Well the thing about big predatory animals (excluding humans) is that they don't really differentiate between targets. You could release one hundred cougars into an area filled with deer, but the cougars won't just hunt deer. They'll grab cows, sheep and people as well. Which is a problem.
Humans are probably one of the only predators in the world that can selectively hunt prey, and as such we're really the only option to control the populations of these animals.
Dread, the waterpoints certainly have contributed to our roo population explosion. However, what would probably be the biggest contributer is the almost total lack of any predator. When the Australian Aboriginals arrived in Australia there were a number of megafauna predators, but they dissapeared quickly after humans arrived. The two large predators in Australia when Europeans arrived were the dingo (a dog imported from Asia) and the Tasmanian Tiger or thylacine, a marsupial preadtor in southern Australia. The thylacine is since extinct, hunted to death for it's pelt plus it's habit of attacking cattle (this was back in colonial times). Dingos can't take down adult roos; in fact the only Australian predator that can is, you guessed it, humans. When the Aboriginals were displaced and killed by Europeans, roos weren't hunted any more. Hence, the roo population, which for centuries had been kept in check by Aboriginal hunting, exploded.