It’s difficult to talk a deer to death

After talking about the need to solve Newark’s deer infestation for many months, city council seems ready to take decisive action. They are going to pass the buck(s).

Council’s service committee agreed to let full council vote on it. What they’re going to decide is whether or not to let the mayor develop a plan to solve this matter.

Assuming council votes affirmatively, further action will depend on the mayor’s willingness and ability to get a plan for deer eradication that will please everybody. In other words, nothing’s going to happen, but council can now blame the mayor. Spot on for Newark governors.

On 9/14/09 I wrote Kill the deer humanely, explaining that there is a way to kill deer without the suffering caused by bow hunting. If you don’t think bow hunting causes suffering, take a look at this video in which a veterinarian tells specifically how a deer suffers once hit by an arrow.

Nobody in their right mind wants to cause these animals that kind of death. And if the mayor and council think anybody but bow hunters are going to get their jollies watching such a slaughter, I got news for them.

The Advocate editorialized for bow hunting on 9/13/09, and Councilman Doug Marmie has declared he’ll see to it that firearms are outlawed in the city’s war on deer.

But here’s what I wrote before: “gunning deer is way less cruel and a lot safer if done by professionals ...” Then I gave contact information for a company in Pennsylvania that specializes in deer-herd control, along with links explaining that professional sharpshooters are trained, careful, and knowledgeable; the kind of ammo used, and a bit about how the low-powered bullets are contained for everyone’s safety. Read it here.

Yesterday, I called Natural Resource Consultants, Inc. of Fort Hill PA and talked with Bryon Shissler. He told me that the company works in harmony with state officials and laws; that the company is available to come here and explain its services to the community; that it assesses deer-herd conditions (including habitat in and around the city); that it recommends what has to be done to control them; and that it defines goals and ensures they are met. He said that various types of consumers are willing to pay for the processing of meat.

I am convinced that the people of this area would prefer to see a bit of their tax money used to eradicate these critters by trained, professional and expert deer-herd managers.

The alternative is to wait for the mayor to solve the deer problem that’s been a problem ever since before he took office. It’s possible that his solution will be (since it’s so difficult to talk a deer to death) to wait for all the deer to die of old age.