Hunters, rut season and deer vehicle accident - The reality

Hunters already know that the highest time for Deer Vehicle Accidents are in the fall (hunting season) so instead of accepting the fact their disgusting selves being in the woods killing deer is what causing the deer vehicle accidents they instead blame the rut season or the "dva's happen more at night" excuses. Here is the video to refute that argument and no doubt in my mind that over 90% of DVA's are a direct result of DNR manipulation of deer habitat to produce more deer and hunters in the forest.



Why are hunters supplement feeding deer?Watch the video

What is "Fawn Crops"?

It's easy to see how a bowshot (gun shot also) deer can cause deer to run to the road here

Deer Vehicle Accidents has more then DOUBLED in state with most hunters!
click here

Where did I get my information about creating large deer herd and big rack deer? here is one of the several sites I have found.

Hunters like to hunt deer when deer are most active and here is what I found.



"The second reason is that they didn't get to live 3 1/2 to 5 1/2 years by being completely stupid. These mature bucks have patterned hunters throughout their lives. They know that most hunters hunt from daylight to about 9:00AM, and in the afternoon from around 3:00PM to dark. " Hunting and shooting info

"Dawn
The earliest hours of the morning are among the highest for deer movement. It's best to get to your blind or your station before dawn. Set up when it's still dark and you won't disturb the deer as they wake up in the morning."

"Dusk
# Dusk is the best time for deer hunting. First of all, hunters at dusk will have the converse advantage that dawn hunters had, as deer return to their beds. However, dusk is also a time of other increased activity. In the warmth of early autumn, depending on the climate, the deer prefer coming out to feed at dusk rather than through the heat of the day. In late autumn, when most hunters hunt, deer are liable to be more active at dusk because of the rut. Bucks will be chasing does, and both will be less cautious than usual, and more likely to wind up in the wide open in good position for a shot. Get out to your position two hours before sunset and wait for the increased activity. "

The best time to hunt deer click here


What is the best time of day to deer hunt?

" Most hunters seem to prefer early and late. Deer are moving in the mornings back to their beds from feeding, and visa versa in the evening going to the fields to feed. "



"Best time to hunt deer is early morning and evening. Deer are mostly nocturnal animals; they prefer to feed at night. In the mornings, you will see them as they to into the woods to find a nice safe place to bed down for the day. In the evening, right before dusk, they start moving around, as they are hungry and want to go out again and feed."



Hunters like to say that hunting is not allowed at night which is when DVA's peaks during the fall season. The peak time according to Ontario Transportation is early morning (5am-7am) and after sunset (5pm-11pm) in NY D.E.C it says " with most of the collisions occurring between 6:30 and 7:30 AM and 4:30 and 6:30 PM" in another it says "Be especially alert driving between sundown and sunrise". Here is another ...* "Deer Vehicle Accidents are most likely to occur between 5 AM - 8 AM and 5 PM - 9 PM." And remember this... The report also confirms that most wild animal collisions occur during early morning (5am-7am) or after sunset (5pm-11pm).

**Deer hunting is permitted one half hour before sunrise and one half hour after sunset.


PS. Most importantly is that Hunting organization are deliberately creating this large deer herd and of course antlered deer for the purpose of recreational hunting. Here is another quote among many I have found that proves they are "producing" deer for sports hunting. From a website called North American Whitetails and title of their post is "Are your deer hungry" ?

"If you're not providing the local herd with enough of the right groceries for maximum antler and body size, as well as high fawn survival, you're not enjoying the full benefits of sound management."

"Let's assume that 75 percent of a whitetail's daily food consumption consists of prime agricultural crops, the other 25 percent of native browse. Such heavy utilization of food plots isn't theoretical; at North American Whitetail's Fort Perry Plantation in Georgia, agricultural crops make up 80 percent of the herd's annual diet.>>> And under management, the deer density increased to more than five times that of natural carrying capacity<<< - even as the health of the natural habitat steadily improved. In the West, whitetails in river-bottom habitat with irrigated alfalfa are almost fully dependent on that crop when it's available. >>>The same trend is true in the Midwest and Central Canada.)

Here's the key to why whitetails do so well when provided with the right food plots:<<<
Gee, and all this time we thought it was about "reduction" of deer population.


*****

Another important note: Hunters are allowed to be in the forest tracking wounded deer after dark and tracking is most common in bowhunting but in shotgun hunting too. Here is a quote from tracking wounded deer site.
* "When trailing at night use a couple of the Chem Lights that you can get at WalMart for less than a buck. You don't use these as lights to see blood, but they are hung on limbs at the last blood found. That way nobody has to stand on the last blood and everyone can easily see where the last blood found is at"



"The worst thing you can do when tracking a deer at night is to head out immediately. Fear will increase adrenaline in the deer and cause it to run longer and faster, and your approaching footsteps will instill that fear. Wait 30-45 minutes before you attempt to find a gunshot or bow-shot deer, then begin your trek in the most logical direction. Just make sure you watch which way the deer ran as it flees the site."

Tips for Tracking Deer at Night





"Let the deer layup and die" will show you not only are recreational hunters cruel and heartless but how they will wait for the animals to die as to not spook him to run further from fear. Overall there are a lot of waiting and tracking to do especially from bowhunting although this pertains to shotgun too.




If hunters are so "concerned" about DVA's then why do the DNR and hunters rejects deer birth control ? Why do they continue to lie and deceive the public about IC? click here knowing full well that DVA's continues to be a problem even with hunting!

State Wildlife Agencies encourage killing does to ensure fawn "recruits"

State "Deer Management" says fawn should be at least 2 months old so they can probably take care of themselves, how "caring"!!!! With hunters so preoccupied with producing fawns, it's not surprising why they continue to lie and deceive the public about deer birth control .





The reason why mass killing creates more deer is the ecological principal known as compensatory rebound . After Deer hunting season there is a drastic drop in deer population,thus more food will be available for does. Healthy does means birth to twins and sometime triplets. The fawns will become nothing more then "crops" to the hunters and will "recruit" the fawns to become object for hunters self gratification of killing. Hunting season is huge money for the DNR (not to benefit you the non-hunting public but the hunters themselves. State Wildlife Agencies (Fish and Wildlife etc.) spend billions of dollars to create more land to use as killing field and more deer herd preferably the large antlered buck.

Hunting organization and hunters continued to reject deer birth control and we can see why, here are some quotes about doe killing as part of "deer management".

"The number of new deer added to the pre-hunt population is a function of the number of fawns born and their survival until until the fall. The number of fawns born is primarily determined by the number of does, but the survival of fawns, however, is mostly dependent upon the physical condition of does, although predation is certainly a factor is some situations. A large number of does that are nutritionally stressed will not raise as many fawns to be added to the fall population as a lesser number of healthy does."


"Deer Hunting and Managing"

They spend so much time "studying" does reproductive so does can give more birth and the fawns become "recruit" to be an object for sports killers.





"Thus, late fall up to early winter is very important for deer herd managers to impact and influence fawn production, so make sure the plant communities on your property is properly managed deer habitat. "

The above article came from Texas hunting and deer "management" website. Here is one from PA DNR and "deer management"

"Some people disagree with shooting antlerless deer; they reason that protecting them -- thus maintaining a maximum breeding base -- will assure large numbers of antlered bucks because terrific numbers of deer will be born each year and button bucks wouldn't be harvested. But bear in mind, a smaller herd in balance with its habitat can produce as many fawns as an oversized herd on poor range. Does have fewer young when habitat quality is lacking."

Indiana does it too as well as other states such as NJ and West Virginia and its pretty much the same for all the state that use hunting as a method of "deer management" and to "reduce" deer population.


Mother doe and their young needs each other as you can see from this young fawn we name Sir Knocknee and mother that comes to our back yard. The young fawn about 3 weeks old last spring/summer.







Fawn and mommy at 3 months old




This is the young fawn a week ago still with mother and Sir is now cleaning mommy.




Sir knocknee is about a year and a month today still with mommy.







State Wildlife Agencies spends billions of dollars manipulating deer habitat to produce more deer even killing deer natural predator


("biggest threat to fawn 'RECRUITMENT' ")

which is nature's eco-balance. The fawn are "protected" so they will replace the 100,000 of deer (over 6 million across America) killed season after season. Imagine if we just had wildlife watching and stopped sports hunting, it would benefit not only the animals life but us for no animal would have to die , there be no need to replenish the slaughtered deer year after year from sports hunting and spend so much money and time creating "fawn crops" "recruiting" fawns , burning deer habitat, planting food plots, and for that extra boost hunters do whats called " supplement feeding" to create better antler growth and larger deer herd. The large deer herd is what is what causing Deer Vehicle Accidents which is also highest in the Fall hunting season plus we like to see the same deer alive when wildlife watching year after year after year.

Also a great article to read is ANATOMY OF A "DOE" HUNT: How Killing Female Deer at the Watchung Reservation Increased Birth Rates and Reproduction.

Its no wonder DVA'as are so high in the heavily hunted state because hunting is not about "reduction" its about production of deer.

Don't be fooled by the word "harvest" which hunting public love to use instead of the word kill or slaughters to white wash their killing for sports. They want the public to believe that killing a deer is like plucking a potato out of the ground and that the animals feel no pain or suffering. May I remind the wildlife killing public that Deer are not crops, vegetables, potatoes etc unless we can call hunting accident victims a "harvest".

Early doe hunt from another "deer management" website and look the heartlessness of the hunting public.

Supplement Feeding can spread CWD yet hunters do it and supports it - WHY?

"Chronic wasting disease seems more likely to occur in areas where deer or elk are crowded or where they congregate at man-made Artificial feeding or baiting of deer and elk may compound the problem" (Williams / Young 1980)



There is no end to hunters lies and hypocrisy. Hunters tell non-hunters not to feed Deer because of risk of spreading wildlife disease especially Chronic Wasting Diseases yet they themselves feed them "deer supplements" just like you see in the photos and what are purpose of this "deer supplements"? To make the antlers grow, for deer herd size and more fawn birth.









Before we begin , what is Chronic Wasting Disease?

"Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a transmissible neurological disease of of deer and elk that produces small lesions in brains of infected animals. "It is characterized by loss of body condition, behavioral abnormalities and death. CWD is classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), and is similar to mad cow disease in cattle"

What do many "deer manager" say about supplement feeding?

"Deer managers agree that supplemental feeding, whether it be protein pellets, whole cotton seed, or some other type of high-protein food, really helps local deer populations."

"Individual deer health is important for maintaining body mass, promoting maximum antler growth in bucks, and optimal milk production in does."

"Managing for proper nutrition in white-tailed deer is important for good body condition, good fawn production and recruitment, and maximum antler growth. Good nutrition can be accomplished by doing three things that involve proper habitat management, supplemental feeding, and the planting of food plots."

One website called "Buck management" Rationalize that its "ok" for them to supplement feed deer and risk CWD spread with this lame excuses.

"One thing to keep in mind: Deer are likely to concetrate somewhere - whether it be a water source, food source, bedding area, or travel corridor. Although providing supplemental food will concetrate deer, I suspect that if a disease or virus is present the pathogen will be passed on regardless of whether or not you provide supplemental feed."


P.129 "With supplemental feeding, it becomes very easy to maitain artificialy high deer densities and still obtain adequate results in terms of antler and body growth." Producing Quality Whitetails Revised Edition
Al Brothers and Murphy E. Ray, Jr.
Edited by Charly McTee

CWD was first spread by supplement feeding rendered animals for protein (antler and herd growth) . Comments about CWD from From Organic Consumer Association.

"As you can see by reading this article [below] in this afternoon's Capital Times of Madison, word is slowly leaking out about what has apparently been a massive decade-long feeding of "supplements" (including meat and bone meal as mineral and protein) to wild deer in the heart of the "kill zone," the area of the WI Chronic Wasting Disease outbreak.

Apparently no one in the CWD research community has ever investigated the possibility that CWD may be spreading via rendered feed (mineral, fat and protein supplements), as happened in Britain with mad cow disease. This needs to be investigated immediately as a possible third means of infection for CWD, along with suspected animal-to-animal transmission and environmental contamination.

As you can see from the excerpts of two books below on feeding wild deer, there has been a huge push over the past 10-15 years of supplemental feeding of both game farmed elk and deer and wild deer to grow bigger animals with huge-boned antlers.

Just about every hunting store sells deer feeders and supplement whether for baiting or for deer herd and antler growth just so little men (and women) can kill these beautiful animals for sports and trophy.








CWD is now in 14 states plus 2 Canadian Province
Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York (only from CWD containment area), Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia (only from Hampshire County), Wisconsin and Wyoming; as well as the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Fish and Wildlife Spends billions to manipulate deer habitat for production of large herds

Its amazing the extent that State DNR would go to create large deer herds in attempt to produce as many antlered deer as possible and growing fawns like they were crops. This is what hunters says on their "deer management" website on "caring for fawn" to ensure abundance of deer for recreational hunting.





"Additionally, keep an eye on your predator population and do what you can to control them, but especially in areas with less than ideal fawning habitat. "

"There is quite a bit of time between now and deer season, but the deer you should be thinking about is the one you will be harvesting (KILL) about 5 1/2 years from now. "

"Any practice that removes ground cover during the fawning season should be discouraged if you want to improve the fawn crop in your area."


"Research has shown that high quality deer habitat can produce good fawns crops even with dense predator populations."

"On the flip side, barren ground with a heavily used forest understory can spell “poor fawn crop.” If this problem is not addressed, expect deer numbers in the area to decline over time. Hey, if the fawns can’t survive and you shoot the rest, what’s left?"

"In our recent spotlight deer surveys, we noted an increase in fawn numbers and an increase in deer numbers,” he said. "

"Due to the antler restrictions and adequate forage available, hunter should see older bucks with larger antlers this season."




Hunters "complain" about deer vehicle accidents and overpopulation yet THEY want to create large deer herd for hunting opportunity!






Here is the food plots..so much money and time spend on "conserving" land to use as killing field and deer production.




"Good fawn production" "Maximum antler growth"











What anti-huntig league and organization been saying for years about how hunting is not about "reducing" deer population but to "produce" deer abunace to ensure plenty of big racked "trophy" deer because that is what the wildlife killers wants and will pay for and how the state can continue make revenue of the slaughter.

How does hunting creates surplus animals?


1.) Bucks are killed by hunters
2.) Does produce extra offspring (fawns)
3.) Fewer bucks means more nutritious forage for fawns and adult does.
4.) Habitat is manipulated (burning vegetation, timber-cutting, etc.) to provide more food.
6.) Abnormally high populations of deer result year after year.


Here is the fire they create (how much does this cost and how many wildlife are killed or displaced??)











Some of the fire they created that went out of control








In conclusion all that "wonderful" talk that hunters give you about wildlife "conservation" and how the money that come from the sale of hunting license and tag goes to "wildlife management" you see what its really about. So much money spent to create large herd of deer and at the same time overpopulation thus deer vehicle accident. Hunters/DNR continues to contradict themselves by saying they want to "reduce" deer population but in reality they are creating them. The evidence is right there and other heavily hunted states are doing the same thing. So the next question is..

Should state wildlife agencies help pay for DVA's victims?

Deer Vehicle Accidents has gone up in Indiana but DNR are "providing" deer for hunting?

Indiana's Deer Vehicle Accident is on the rise. 2008



FROM INDIANA DEPT. OF FISH AND GAMES.

"The 2005 total deer harvest (killing) of 125,529 set a new single season record, and followed a span of seven years where the annual harvest (killing) increased over the previous year. This possibly indicates a growth in the overall statewide herd. Going into the 2006 season, Indiana again seemed poised to perhaps break that record number as well, continuing the trend of an increased annual harvest."


ZONE 5
Southeastern Indiana's Zone 5 is a nine-county area that is known to produce plenty of deer with its >>>excellent habitat<<<, and higher deer density. The zone produced 15,784 deer in 2006, compared with the 16,786 deer it produced the previous year. Six of the zone's counties produced at least 1,500 deer in 2006."

Remember "clear cutting forest" to provide deer with food that they love so they produce more babies.??

"The large stands of timber, wood lots, thickets, wetlands and abundant farm fields in this zone should continue to produce plenty of deer for years to come."

"Plenty of deer for years to come" while deer are blames for everything and human lives lost from deer vehicle accident so long as hunters gets their recreational needs and states rakes in blood money only to create more land to be used as a killing filed and propagate game animals.

" This possibly indicates a growth in the overall statewide herd. Going into the 2006 season, Indiana again seemed poised to perhaps break that record number as well, continuing the trend of an increased annual harvest."

"Zone 3 doesn't harbor as many deer as its neighboring zone to the north, >>>but it still hosts enough whitetails to provide excellent opportunities for its residents<<<. Highly urbanized Allen County, which continues to lead the zone, produced 1,589 deer last year, compared with 1,498 deer it gave up the season before. Wabash County climbed one spot to No. 2 for the zone with its total of 1,362 deer, down just slightly from its previous total of 1,384."


Hunting is a money making business, they are not concerned with human deer conflict nor deer vehicle accidents, if they were why do they continue to "provide" deer for recreational hunting? Why do they continue to lie and mislead the public about effective and safety of deer birth control such this kind of false statement by the "Sportsman Alliance"

"There are several reasons to oppose this program not the least of which is that the drugs used in it have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration," said Sexton. "Hunting, on the other hand, is a proven wildlife management tool."

Watch this video about deer birth control and how pro-hunting people continue to lies and mislead the public about the effectiveness and safety.


If hunting its a "proven and effective" wildlife management tools then why have deer vehicle accidents gone up in the heavily hunted states? Why deer population steadily growing the last 3-4 decades in heavily hunted states?

Here are several important links to read Human Fatality in DVA is Murder One.

"Deer Management" is a run by hunters and pro-kill "biologist" to ensure large deer herd every years for recreational purpose. Read Why there are too many deer.

Deer Birth Control is the only way. Read PZP (DEER BIRTH CONTROL) FAQ

60% Reduction in the size of the deer herd its a fact yet hunters still rejects it!

Full Video on Deer Contraception by Jay Kirkpatrick Phd. click here

Deer Vehicle Accidents related deaths has doubled in the states that are heavily hunted click here

Lyme disease, hunting and few other facts

Hunting Will Not Eliminate Lyme Disease.

All mammals (except bats), 49 bird species and pets can serve as hosts for Lyme disease infected ticks. The tick's preferred host is the white footed mouse, not deer. The American Lyme Disease Foundation has stated that it does not recommend killing deer as a way to control Lyme Disease. Killing deer may increase the amount of food and cover available for mice, birds and other hosts, which in turn will boost their numbers and escalate the spread of the disease. If hunting is an effective means of controlling Lyme disease, then Pennsylvania -one of our nation's most heavily hunted states -would not be among the four states with the highest incidence of Lyme. Hunting will not eliminate Lyme disease.

INEFFECTIVENESS AND DANGERS OF HUNTING

Hunting Increases Deer - Car Collisions
According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, most car/deer collisions happen during hunting season. Pennsylvania's second largest insurance company (the nation's 12th largest insurer) - Erie Insurance - collected data in 1997 which showed:

• 50 % of all deer-car collision claims occurs during
  October, November and December -primarily due to hunting. Hunters will claim that this is mating season but it's not. Deer mate in October - a time when the deer-car collision rate was 1600. The vast majority of deer-car collision claims - i.e. 4524 claims - occurred in November to December during hunting season not mating season.
• The counties with the highest number of deer-car collisions were among the most heavily hunted counties based on statistics from Erie Insurance and the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
• Pennsylvania Deer-car collisions averaged 34 deer claims per day for the year. But on the first day of buck season the average was 157 and on the first day of doe season it was 160 - a five-fold increase!
• Hunting of deer predators Habitat modification including clear-cutting to enhance "edge" habitat and planting vegetation for deer.

Deer too have interest in living and do not want to die



WHAT THE PUBLIC CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO HELP PROMOTE THE NON LETHAL DEER OPTIONS GO HERE

A Veterinarian's Perspective on Bowhunting

What Happens to the Animals?

Bowhunters contend that although crippling is undesirable, most wounded animals do not die agonizing deaths, but can quickly recover. They feel that the broadhead arrow inflicts clean wounds that heal quickly. Bowhunters also like to suggest that a broadhead arrow is an efficient killing tool, with brand names such as the Ripper, Penetrator, and Terminator Doublecut.

The pretense seems to be that somehow animals develop hemophilia the instant they are struck; thus, they bleed to death: Stop all body functions with incredible speed—within 30 seconds in most cases, according to The Complete Book of Bowhunting. Contrary to these claims, most crippled animals do not recover from their wounds; rather, they routinely contract peritonitis or a septic infection.

Broadheads do not inflictclean wounds; they generally inflict dirty wounds. The main cause of infection,according to Benke, is today’s multi-bladed broadhead. As these arrows penetrate an
animal’s body, numerous hairs are clipped, often caught in the slots of the arrow blades, and distributed throughout the wound channel. The external wound opening then becomes sealed due to clotting and dried blood-matted hair. The bacteria from the clipped hairs begin multiplying in the wound. The amount of bacterial infection emanating from the wound depends on the wound location.

The animal’s general health is also an important factor affecting the time period it takes for the animal to finally die. Death eventually results one to two agonizing weeks later.




“The exciting Warhead starts with its
bone shattering Tri-Cut Tip … that
explodes flesh and bone away so the
three surgically sharp stainless blades
can open a larger, more lethal
entrance/exit hole.” (From
manufacturer’s catalog)


In order for an animal to bleed to death, its blood-clotting system must be overwhelmed. To overwhelm this system, the broadhead must penetrate the heart or sever one or more major blood vessels. If these are not lacerated, an animal cannot bleed to death— the body’s natural blood-clotting system sees to that.

Benke estimates that 20% to 30% of deer struck by arrows die from hemorrhaging and that 10% sustain wounds that probably heal, leaving 60% to 65% of the deer to die from infections.
Benke asserts: the average time in which broadheads cause death must be measured in weeks or days rather than in seconds, minutes, or even hours. Sadly, it is not only the crippled animals who suffer, but those hit and retrieved successfully as well. According to experts clean kills are a rarity. While the deer who are hit and retrieved successfully are not fortunate, they fare better than those who have been wounded and left to suffer. A comment from an experienced bowhunter who writes in Fins & Feathers magazine

(March 1987) assumes that the elapsed time between the initial wounding of an animal
and the animal’s final death is exceedingly long—even if the hit occurs in vital (heart or
lung) areas. The rule of thumb for bowhunters has long been that they should wait 30 to 45 minuteson heart and lung hits, an hour or more on a suspected liver hit, 8 to12 hours on paunch hits, and follow immediately on hindquarter and other muscle-only hits to keep the
wound open and bleeding. Bowhunting literature serves as its own indictment. The book Bowhunting for Whitetails says: It’s important to give them (the deer) time to stiffen and die - 20 minutes at a minimum, 30 minutes even better... just hang back and have a smoke. There is absolutely no sure way to kill a deer instantly with a bow!

The broadhead arrow is notorious for its inherent inefficiency and singular capacity to
cripple, wound, inflict pain, and prolong the suffering of animals. All 50 states have banned the .22 caliber rifle for big-game hunting because of its inadequate killing power. Given that .22 rifles are far superior to compound bows in terms of killing capability, one can infer that states have failed to institute and implement responsible and consistent hunting regulations.

A Veterinarian’s Perspective on Bowhunting

According to Steve Nusbaum MA, DVM, if the damage to the vital area is less than
severe, and if an arrow nicks an auricle rather than cuts through both ventricles, the
blessing of shock-induced analgesia (a deadening or absence of the sense of pain
without loss of consciousness) to set in can take a long time.

Consider the physiology of the deer who dies by suffocation, choking on its own blood,
or the deer who dies after an arrow penetrates the diaphragm. The presence of a highly
sophisticated nervous system in deer certainly suggests that their nervous systems
perform the same functions as human nervous systems. The presence of the same
neurochemicals in deer as in humans similarly shows that they feel pain as we do.

In recent years there has been a major shift in the way the scientific community
understands the mental life of animals, particularly mammals. Presently, researchers in
a variety of animal-related disciplines generally agree that in addition to being sentient,
mammals are consciously aware and have feelings and emotions; even though they are
more rudimentary than those of humans.

Mammals, including deer, are presently understood by scientists to have the capacity to
think. Numerous studies indicate that the mental harm that is done to an animal placed
in a stressful situation may be more injurious than that done to a person in a similar
situation because the animal’s mind, in varying degrees, focuses more on the immediate
than the distant. Thus, an animal, unlike a person, is less aware that the present anxiety
it is experiencing may be temporary. Not only does bowhunting cause real physical pain and suffering, the deer’s mental suffering is just as real, and in its own way, may be just as painful.

Bowhunting as a Deer Management Tool

The use of bowhunting as a method to control deer population densities is ineffective:
*In a February 1988 report on bowhunting at Rock Cut State Park in Illinois,
Department of Conservation biologist Tom Beissel, states: …this report recognizes that bowhunting has never been an effective tool for deer control…
* In Texas, which has more deer than any other state, Parks and Wildlife biologist
Horace Gore comments: You cannot call bowhunting a population control
measure, it is a recreational pursuit. In fact, he adds: We do not advocate
bowhunting when the objective is controlling the population.
* According to John Parker, Area Wildlife Manager for the Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources, only 3 deer were killed from the 29 bow permits issued in
the 1989 bow hunt in the Minnesota River Valley Area.
* Larry Gillette, Wildlife Biologist for Hennepin Parks, acknowledges that
bowhunters fail to retrieve a substantial number of deer they shoot and does not
advise the use of archery hunting to control deer populations.
* The Eagan City Council decided in 1993 not to allow bowhunting. This was
largely due to FATE’s (Friends of Animals and Their Environment) efforts. An
article in Bowhunter’s Hotline (Sept. 1993) regarding Eagan’s decision reported
that the Mayor of Eagan had supported bowhunting in the past; however, his
mind was changed about the sport due to the information provided by FATE.
The Mayor of Eagan, Tom Egan was quoted in the article as saying: FATE
provided me with a lot of valuable information, and I have always supported
bowhunting, but I no longer feel the rationale that it’s an efficient management
tool outweighs the safety and cruelty aspects. Also, the Mayor was reported as
saying: I think if we set loose every bowhunter in Eagan, we still wouldn’t reduce
the deer population, and the city would be less safe. He added: It isn’t feasible
for every bowhunter to shoot and retrieve five deer. They might each shoot and
wound five, but not shoot and recover five.

The above listed items clearly show the inefficiencies and ineffectiveness of bowhunting
as a population control method and deer management tool.

The Inescapable Conclusion

Those who indulge in the antiquated bow-and-arrow type of hunting knowingly commit
each living creature they hit to lingering agony, and this is true whether the wound is
eventually fatal or not. These animals endure prolong suffering before they collapse and
die.

As this report has shown, the following facts about bowhunting are inescapable:
* Bowhunting is inhumane and wasteful.
* Bowhunters do not want to talk about the wounding issue and archery wounding
is the most denied problem in bowhunting.
* Wounding and crippling losses are inevitable.
*Shot placement is, for all practical purposes, random due to the difficulty in
shooting arrows accurately. There is absolutely no sure way to kill a deer
instantly with a bow
* More often than not, poorly hit deer are lost and not recovered.
* The main cause of infection in the wound is today’s multi-bladed broadhead
arrow
* Almost all abdominally shot deer die a slow death from peritonitis with the
average time of death measured in agonizing days or weeks rather than in
minutes or hours.
* The use of bowhunting as a method to control deer population densities is
ineffective. Bowhunting is not a population control measure; it is a recreational
pursuit.

Humans are provided with the capacity to imagine for a variety of reasons. And we have
the capacity to imagine empathetically for a singular reason—we can appreciate the pain
of others without experiencing it firsthand. Balancing the needs of humans and animals
is a difficult and complex task. If communities decide that deer herds must be managed,
it is reprehensible to reduce the taking of animal life to a recreational activity for
bowhunting enthusiasts. Instead, a truly humane solution must be found—whether that
solution is to hire professional sharpshooters to observe the herd, taking the old and
infirm, or to implement an immunocontraception program for the herd.

About the Author: This report was compiled by Linda Hatfield, a Minneapolis resident and current ExecutiveDirector of HOWL (Help Our Wolves Live). She has extensive experience with wildlife and wildlife issues, including working with the University of Minnesota Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and most recently The Raptor Center to rescue and release birds of prey, working with FATE (Friends of Animals and Their Environment) on hunting and deer management issues, and as a former lobbyist on wildlife issues with the Minnesota Legislature. She has testified about deer management issues and other wildlife issues in many communities and has served on many citizens’ task forces.