Post by FWS on Jul 19, 2014 11:20:13 GMT -6
Editorial: N.Y. must consider commercial hunting permits
From the Editorial Page
Star Gazette
July 19, 2014
A tightly controlled and regulated form of commercial hunting should be explored to manage deer populations in New York State.
One of New York’s great environmental success stories has been the recovery of wild animals to areas where they had nearly vanished.
Eagles, hawks, otters, turkeys and sturgeon are among the animals that smart wildlife management and environmental protection have restored to the air, water and woodlands of the Southern Tier. The efforts improve the region’s biodiversity and enrich our lives each time we see one of these once-rare animals.
The efforts proving successful for these recovering species, have been too successful for others. The white-tailed deer is the poster animal of too much success in species restoration. To a lesser degree, a rising population of black bear and Canada geese enjoy their own too successful recoveries.
The overabundance of deer in our region can be tallied every day by the roadside. Deer have grown rapidly from a population that hardly existed in 1900 to 400,000 by 1978 and then on to at least 1 million today. Earlier this year, a Cornell University study found that woodlands with high densities of deer are changing for the worse. The deer consume native plants and ignore invasive non-native plants that quickly spread through the understory.
With fewer hunters and a growing habitat of lawns, gardens and parks, an expanding deer population is assured. With that will come more car-deer collisions, more damage to agriculture, orchards, gardens and more risks of Lyme disease.
To develop more effective wildlife management, New York needs to start a difficult conversation on the topic of tightly regulated commercial hunting — particularly of white-tailed deer.
The issue of commercial hunting sends shivers through our conservationist traditions borne of the wasteful slaughter and extinction of some species in our nation’s not-too-distant past. The killing of millions of passenger pigeons and buffalo are enduring examples of foolish and unbridled commercial hunting.
But a controlled and regulated form of commercial hunting should be explored to manage deer populations. Among the many regulations such a system will require are hunter accreditation and focusing commercial hunting on specific areas with dense deer populations. A system to oversee the flow of venison for commercial sale will be essential to discourage poaching.
A growing consumer demand for locally produced food would create a ready market for New York venison. The environmental impact of commercial deer hunting would be less than large-scale feedlot meat production and the long-distance hauling of products to market. Fewer dollars would drain away from local communities to out-of-state meat producers. Some new commercial hunting jobs would be created.
This discussion on commercial hunting will be difficult, but the alternative is worse. That much is evident by the lifeless deer left along our highways.
What’s next
To develop more effective wildlife management, New York needs to start a difficult conversation on the topic of tightly regulated commercial hunting – particularly of white-tailed deer.
From the Editorial Page
Star Gazette
July 19, 2014
A tightly controlled and regulated form of commercial hunting should be explored to manage deer populations in New York State.
One of New York’s great environmental success stories has been the recovery of wild animals to areas where they had nearly vanished.
Eagles, hawks, otters, turkeys and sturgeon are among the animals that smart wildlife management and environmental protection have restored to the air, water and woodlands of the Southern Tier. The efforts improve the region’s biodiversity and enrich our lives each time we see one of these once-rare animals.
The efforts proving successful for these recovering species, have been too successful for others. The white-tailed deer is the poster animal of too much success in species restoration. To a lesser degree, a rising population of black bear and Canada geese enjoy their own too successful recoveries.
The overabundance of deer in our region can be tallied every day by the roadside. Deer have grown rapidly from a population that hardly existed in 1900 to 400,000 by 1978 and then on to at least 1 million today. Earlier this year, a Cornell University study found that woodlands with high densities of deer are changing for the worse. The deer consume native plants and ignore invasive non-native plants that quickly spread through the understory.
With fewer hunters and a growing habitat of lawns, gardens and parks, an expanding deer population is assured. With that will come more car-deer collisions, more damage to agriculture, orchards, gardens and more risks of Lyme disease.
To develop more effective wildlife management, New York needs to start a difficult conversation on the topic of tightly regulated commercial hunting — particularly of white-tailed deer.
The issue of commercial hunting sends shivers through our conservationist traditions borne of the wasteful slaughter and extinction of some species in our nation’s not-too-distant past. The killing of millions of passenger pigeons and buffalo are enduring examples of foolish and unbridled commercial hunting.
But a controlled and regulated form of commercial hunting should be explored to manage deer populations. Among the many regulations such a system will require are hunter accreditation and focusing commercial hunting on specific areas with dense deer populations. A system to oversee the flow of venison for commercial sale will be essential to discourage poaching.
A growing consumer demand for locally produced food would create a ready market for New York venison. The environmental impact of commercial deer hunting would be less than large-scale feedlot meat production and the long-distance hauling of products to market. Fewer dollars would drain away from local communities to out-of-state meat producers. Some new commercial hunting jobs would be created.
This discussion on commercial hunting will be difficult, but the alternative is worse. That much is evident by the lifeless deer left along our highways.
What’s next
To develop more effective wildlife management, New York needs to start a difficult conversation on the topic of tightly regulated commercial hunting – particularly of white-tailed deer.
