Our dear deer

Winnipeg Free Press

7 days ago

Opinion
It is time to call a spade a spade.
The deer in our city are destructive, dangerous and a nuisance. We have anthropomorphized, romanticized, and tolerated them for too long.
Not every deer is Bambi, certainly not the ones who jump over my fence when I am gone and proceed to wreck my garden and eat my lovely flowers.
And undoubtedly not the one near Dauphin who, on July 7, crashed into and killed a 15-year-old boy who was riding his dirt bike. In reporting this accident, the RCMP stated that 'this is a heartbreaking tragedy that will have a lasting impact on so many in the Dauphin area.'
Too often we ignore the impact of deer/vehicle collisions. In Winnipeg there were 600 deer/vehicle collisions last year, injuring more than 200 people and costing taxpayers $27 million in property damage and injuries.
Unfortunately, when efforts are made to indicate that we need to manage the overabundance of wildlife in our city, the response from animal rights advocates is not favourable.
When man interferes with nature, they say nature loses. Man, in effect, becomes the villain.
The reality is that the deer population is increasing within our city.
Those who are sympathetic to deer state that they have migrated to the city because of wildfires and the encroachment of urban development on the deer's territory. Deer were there first, they say.
On the contrary, deer migrate to the city because they thrive in a city where there are no natural predators, there is an abundance of natural vegetation for them to eat, and people feed them.
If you do not want deer in your yard, deer activists indicate that you can build a fence, the recommended height of which is 2.4 metres, or seven feet, 10 inches.
Hard-working gardeners who attempt to use ribbons or noxious deterrents to keep deer from feasting on their gardens are called names like 'disgusting' and 'lazy.'
If anyone dares to suggest moving or even worse 'culling' deer, the result is a lawsuit indicating that these actions would result in mental anguish and trauma for a great many people.
Culling or moving deer is considered by deer lovers to be counterproductive in that it creates a vacuum which will only be filled by more deer.
This argument is like saying that you should not pull weeds from your garden as more will grow in their place.
But the issue here goes deeper than a debate over who is right or wrong when it comes to managing what has become an overabundance of wildlife in the city. It is really an issue related to whether we value animals more than people.
Most of us love animals, particularly our pets. It is one thing to have a 400 lb. deer crash into your car but what happens if you happen to hit a dog? Based on what I have observed, people will stop and, without justification, chastise the driver for being careless.
They will then ignore the traumatized driver and express their sympathy for the dog who, in their view, is blameless.
I feel for animals, but it is time to focus on what is best for human beings. We have reached a tipping point.
Any good the proliferation of wild animals and deer are doing in the city is outweighed by the problems they are causing.
It is time to quit feeling sorry for wild animals and to start thinking about how we can help people who are being negatively affected by these animals. Even more importantly, it is time to be proactive in taking steps to prevent an exacerbation of already existing problems with wildlife in our city.
Mac Horsburgh is a retired critical incident stress debriefer. He writes from Winnipeg