Post by Dan on Dec 5, 2007 8:57:41 GMT -5
Short Hills deer study may end with cull
www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=803269&auth=MATTHEW+VAN+DONGEN
The province will count deer in Short Hills this winter to see if a cull is needed to protect the park from four-footed foragers.
Ministry of Natural Resources biologists will use helicopters and infrared cameras to track deer in the over-populated park, said superintendent Mark Custers.
"We've had a lot of complaints (about too many deer) over the years, but we don't have the data to back them up," Custers said.
Nearby farmers like Jim Smith say the deer are literally eating their livelihood. They've called for a ministry-controlled cull for years.
"I hope they do it. (The deer) do cause so much damage," said Smith, who watches white-tailed deer gnaw away at hundreds of seedlings at his Ridgeville Christmas tree farm every year.
"I don't think there has ever been a lack of concern on the ministry's part. They just don't have a lot of options at their disposal that are politically correct."
No one disputes the fact that too many deer call the park home, said local ministry biologist Anne Yagi.
Yagi said the ecologically sensitive, 1,800-acre park can safely support between 75 and 100 deer in the winter. She estimated the population now exceeds 400 deer, thanks, in part, to a succession of mild winters.
The ministry's new research should provide a more accurate head count, said Custers - but not necessarily a mandate to hunt.
"It doesn't necessarily mean a cull," he said. "It's premature to say that at this time."
Custers said he and senior ministry staff would have to recommend a cull to the minister, Donna Cansfield, who would also need to approve the controlled hunt.
www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=803269&auth=MATTHEW+VAN+DONGEN
The province will count deer in Short Hills this winter to see if a cull is needed to protect the park from four-footed foragers.
Ministry of Natural Resources biologists will use helicopters and infrared cameras to track deer in the over-populated park, said superintendent Mark Custers.
"We've had a lot of complaints (about too many deer) over the years, but we don't have the data to back them up," Custers said.
Nearby farmers like Jim Smith say the deer are literally eating their livelihood. They've called for a ministry-controlled cull for years.
"I hope they do it. (The deer) do cause so much damage," said Smith, who watches white-tailed deer gnaw away at hundreds of seedlings at his Ridgeville Christmas tree farm every year.
"I don't think there has ever been a lack of concern on the ministry's part. They just don't have a lot of options at their disposal that are politically correct."
No one disputes the fact that too many deer call the park home, said local ministry biologist Anne Yagi.
Yagi said the ecologically sensitive, 1,800-acre park can safely support between 75 and 100 deer in the winter. She estimated the population now exceeds 400 deer, thanks, in part, to a succession of mild winters.
The ministry's new research should provide a more accurate head count, said Custers - but not necessarily a mandate to hunt.
"It doesn't necessarily mean a cull," he said. "It's premature to say that at this time."
Custers said he and senior ministry staff would have to recommend a cull to the minister, Donna Cansfield, who would also need to approve the controlled hunt.