Injection of Urban Deer with Serum to prevent pregnancy

[mariathemoose]

I'm attaching a link to a news story on the Island regarding the overpopulation of deer causing problems.
What are everyone's thoughts on this? With the amount of people and children going hungry I don't understand this mentality. If the plan works they may bring it into other communities - thoughts? Animal groups don't like the culls but that meat can feed many families.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/oak-bay-to-inject-urban-deer-with-contraceptive-serum-1.3855204

[adriaticum]

Imbecile, yet not surprising, solution

[Bonz]

lol?. so the antihunters want to keep them alive, and do this serum thing...so they can still be hit by cars and killed anyways? ..well thought out.
how does the serum remove the current problem?. it doesnt obviously, either way they will be killed. or get sick or injured
and that serum is a temporary thing fix, reading it needs to be boosted each year

they call 11 deer a cull?. kinda a lame effort if you ask me

[wideopenthrottle]

...the death of all those baby deer before they are even conceived....that sounds barbaric to me...almost against (ahem)..God's will....and who would want to eat a deer on birthcontrol...so much for hormone free wild meat

[caddisguy]

Ridiculous. Inject them with arrows instead.

[DarekG]

who would want to eat a deer on birthcontrol...so much for hormone free wild meat


My thoughts exactly, disgusting. Unnatural.

[Spy]

They are going to capture them in traps and administer the drugs??? Why not put a bolt in their heads while in the trap! Problem solved one less deer ! Is the serum safe for humans that might eat the deer? They say not to worry does don't travel long distances? I beg to differ.

[steel_ram]

Guess that will ruin their "organic" status. So many better ways to spend money in this town. I just don't get what's in the minds of these council's. Personally I enjoy seeing the deer.

[Quince]

Bunch of yahoo's.

[p0stij]

Ridiculous. Inject them with arrows instead.

This. I've heard of municipalities in the states doing it. Archers who pass a proficiency test go in to closed sections of town and harvest problem deer

[Looking_4_Jerky]

Killing the deer and allotting the carcasses sounds all fine, but my guess is that few non-hunting individuals are set up to do their own processing, and if they are receiving the meat because they are "needy", my guess is they are probably unable to pay for the service. If you think about it, their solution is pretty logical, since the population will self control with no mortality to deal with, no public optics issue, etc.

I agree that the serum presents an unknown in the context of edibility/consumption, especially if you think game is all organic. The reality is that a lot of game, urban animals in particular, are far from organic. They live on lawn and gardens that are potentially extensively sprayed, and really, god knows what people do to their lawns gardens to keep pests away and to keep them flourishing to the max. They drink from puddles with residues from our vehicles, etc. I'm not saying that they are better or worse than domestic livestock, but just that wild animals, especially urban dwellers, are potentially far from "organic", as we hunters like to label them. Even rural deer that feed extensively on crops are subject to potentially ingesting a lot of chemicals (fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, yada, yada). Again, it may not be of any health consequence, but no, they are not organic even though we love to think they are.

[Boner]

The biggest problem would be that meat given to needy families has to be inspected. Adding to the time frame it gets harvested to the time it gets into freezers of those who need it. Plus lots of people who need it are renters and might have next to nothing for freezer storage.

Im all for humans doing the deed with a bow/firearm and spreading out the meat for charity, and against any other intervention including half baked ideas like injecting them with anything.

[Rob Chipman]

Capture, inject, release, endure car and other related damage;

-or-

Capture, relocate, allow predators to eat them or have them die from winter kill, disease or accident;


-or-

Shoot with arrow, butcher, feed needy human, demonstrate to urban people how life works.


Yeah, the birth control clearly makes the most sense. It's the most expensive and accomplishes the least, but it let's some people feel good about themselves.

Who's paying? BCSPCA? Or the concerned people making the outcry? Or could it possibly be....the average Oak Bay taxpayer?

[dougan]

Ridiculous. Inject them with arrows instead. bwa haha yep then they can cuddle up against the mashed taters