David_218 Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 http://ewradio.org/program.aspx?ProgramID=4177 A community in Illinois looks for a kinder approach to manage its urban deer population. By Alison Coulson Growing numbers of deer in suburban areas are destroying gardens and colliding with cars more often. Most communities control this problem through lethal means such as hunting. But citizens in Highland Park, Illinois, oppose the killing of white- tailed deer. They asked Nancy Mathews, a wildlife ecologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to evaluate another method of control. Mathews is studying tubal ligation, a form of surgical sterilization, in female deer to see how it affects deer numbers. "It's one of the first in the country, if not the world, to actually do this. There are many other ways of sterilizing deer, but this is the first study of its kind to test whether surgical sterilization could lead to a long-term decline in population." Researchers converted an ambulance into a mobile operating room. They catch female deer in baited traps. Then a veterinarian anesthetizes does and performs the procedure on site. At 750 dollars per deer, it's a costly and time-consuming method. But Mathews says it could become an option for communities willing to pay for it. "We believe that surgical sterilization in an urban community such as Highland Park is a viable means of regulating deer population growth. It takes a longer time. It's very expensive to have a veterinarian who will sterilize the deer. It requires special equipment and training. But in areas that have a lot of opposition to hunting, and especially in communities where firearms are not acceptable, we believe this might provide an alternative to the residents if they are willing to support it financially." Until now, there haven't been any successful alternatives to the lethal control of urban deer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horst Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer If I dont have nothing nice to say I shouldnt say anything at all, thats what my mom used to tell me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_218 Posted January 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer [ QUOTE ] If I dont have nothing nice to say I shouldnt say anything at all, thats what my mom used to tell me [/ QUOTE ] Sorry, but it is VERY HARD to find anything "Positive" to say regarding the sport of Hunting, Target Shooting, or Gun ownership anymore, when you have a group of individuals trying their very best to end it all for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nut Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer [ QUOTE ] if they are willing to support it financially [/ QUOTE ] There is the kicker. But somehow they will try and make hunters pay for it through the DNR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_218 Posted January 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] if they are willing to support it financially [/ QUOTE ] There is the kicker. But somehow they will try and make hunters pay for it through the DNR. [/ QUOTE ] Very Likely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUDRUNNER Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer I've never heard of Highland Park,but I imagine it's somewhere close to Chicago.That's usually where these rediculous things originate from. $750 /deer vs. $23 for 2 archery tags. Them people are nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutter Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer Wildlife biologists tried a similar project in my community. Deer are overpopulated (.1/acre) in the Houston suburb that I live in. Shooting them is not a responsible option here. Females that have been administerd with birth control, have a radio collar on them. Its a problem with no easy solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_218 Posted January 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer [ QUOTE ] I've never heard of Highland Park,but I imagine it's somewhere close to Chicago.That's usually where these rediculous things originate from. $750 /deer vs. $23 for 2 archery tags. Them people are nuts. [/ QUOTE ] I believe it is near Chicago, and yes they're "NUTS" but what can you expect from a bunch of anti-gun & Hunting Liberals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnf Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer The archery solution with an open season seems easy to me. Put an open season on them on ANY private property with archery equiptment and I bet they would be wiped out in no time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowJoe Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer Are they even doing any of this with the IDNR's approval? Last time I checked, you couldn't even yell at the deer without that being considered harrassment of wildlife. Wait until the yotes come into town and start eating Spot and Mr. Whiskers right in their own back yard. Then what are they gonna do? Besides, it will take years before they would ever know if it could work. It will fail miserably. Before too long the people will see that a free bowhunting regulation is much cheaper and more effective than anything. How will this effect deer down the line? What about the ones that the procedure doesn't work on? Do they then pass on a freak birth defect? I can't believe they would do something like that without further research. Just one more reason why I can't stand when Chicago folks come down here and buy property. They start marking everything as "No Hunting" and then can't figure out why the deer are eating all of their plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer why don't they just issue the bucks condoms, like they do to our grade school children? works fine for our kids, doesn't it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutter Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 Re: Another \"Bone-headed\" IL. Attempt to control Deer [ QUOTE ] why don't they just issue the bucks condoms, like they do to our grade school children? works fine for our kids, doesn't it [/ QUOTE ] hmm not sure they are gonna figure out the raincoat. actually, the problem needs to be addressed when a developer comes in and clears 400 acres of habitat in order to build a housing community or shopping center. They just displaced significant numbers of deer and other animals into the surrounding urban areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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