To Whom It May Concern:
I am doing a local
government project for a class on why the government shouldn’t use the
bait and shoot method. I was aware that C.A.S.H. had stood up to this
occurrence in East Amherst and North Tonawanda , NY and was wondering if
you could answer some of my questions...
1. Do you feel that my
town’s compliance with the “Deer Accident Management Plan” could greatly
hurt the population of deer that reside here? And if so, is the town’s
compliance with the bait and shoot method be considered cruel and
unusual punishment to the innocent animals?
2. What would be an
alternative solution to end the problem of the over-populating deer if
the bait and shoot method is flawed?
3. Does this method
benefit the community if fewer accidents (car-deer) are happening?
Thank you, Rachel V.
Thanks for contacting us. You asked:
1. Do you feel
that my town’s compliance with the “Deer Accident Management Plan” could
greatly hurt the population of deer that reside here? And if so, is the
town’s compliance with the bait and shoot method be considered cruel and
unusual punishment to the innocent animals?
Chances are that the town
will not be trying to decimate the deer population, because maintaining
a deer population higher than what the habitat can support is one of the
ways that state hunting agencies keep the public in the dark about their
motives. By maintaining artificially high game animal populations, the
state wildlife agencies sell the public and local officials, on the
“need” to hunt deer to bring their numbers down. The agencies in turn
reap the benefits of the hunting licenses that are sold and the
collection of excise taxes that are part of the cost of weapons,
ammunition and hunting equipment. Creating hunting opportunities is the
way state hunting agencies remain in business from year to year. The
last thing they want is to lower the populations of game animals, lest
hunters lose interest due to not having enough deer to shoot.
We certainly do consider
bait and shoot to be cruel. Luring animals in to dine over a bait pile
while sitting in a tree only a few yards away waiting to kill them is
about as sporting and challenging as shooting fish in a barrel.
Unfortunately, state animal cruelty laws are often written in such a way
to protect hunting. They make certain to craft the laws in such a way
that they do not apply to the “lawful taking of game” - or however it is
that they phrase it in a given law or ordinance.
2. What would be
an alternative solution to end the problem of the over-populating deer
if the bait and shoot method is flawed?
The best way to prevent
the overpopulation of deer would be for the game agencies to
stop manipulating hunting seasons, limits, and regulations to create
recreational opportunities for hunters. Since collecting the
revenue from the sale of hunting licenses, weapons, ammunition and
equipment is the prime motivation of the game agencies, they create and
maintain huntable populations of wildlife. By removing the financial
incentive to create wildlife overpopulation, you'll see nature begin to
control wildlife populations so that they are more in balance with the
available habitat and food supply, something that is called the
“biological carrying capacity” of the area.
To address this, we
propose that state and federal laws be changed to redistribute the funds
that are collected from the sale of hunting licenses, weapons, etc. If
those funds were given to the victims of gun violence and/or their
families, it would end the game agencies’ reliance on hunting and
hunters to fund their budgets.
3. Does this
method benefit the community if less accidents (car-deer) are happening?
Deer/car collisions may
be reduced in the short term, but since hunting contributes to wildlife
overpopulation (I can send you plenty of sources of information for this
if you are interested) the deer/car collisions will always occur at
intolerably high levels. There are ways to prevent deer car collisions
without resorting to violence against wildlife. Simple measures such as
installing better roadway lighting where accidents occur, and lowering
and enforcing speed limits during the hours of dawn and dusk when deer
are most on the move will greatly reduce accidents. Inexpensive
headlight reflectors positioned on the sides of roads can keep deer away
from traffic. The Strieter-Lite reflector has been tested for years and
has been proven to reduce car/deer collisions from 78% to 90%.
I hope this answers your
questions. Feel free to contact us again if you require any additional
information. Good luck on your project in your local government class.
Sincerely, Joe Miele,
Committee to Abolish Sport Hunting,