Deer Contraceptive

[legion]

I don't get it. Wouldn't issuing more (revenue-producing) hunting licenses/deer tags for a year or two take care of the problem at a net-gain for taxpayers?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070205/ap_on_sc/animal_contraceptive

[Jim Richards]

Where's the pro-life outrage?

[Jeff Higgins]

Many states are having trouble selling all of their alloted deer tags already. Putting more tags out won't help if that is the case. Hunter numbers are on the decline just about everywhere. There are a lot of reasons for declining numbers of hunters. Urbanization, lack of access to private land, overbearing game departments and their silly rules, many other uses for their liesure time, etc.

In many areas that actually have hunters that would use the tags, the local residents won't put up with it. Typically happens in the more rural suburban areas popluated by city folks that wanted to move out to "the country". They can't stand the thought of hunters killing "their" deer. They have created quite a quandry for themselves; they won't allow hunting, they feed the deer, and finally wind up with a population problem. Now they are hitting deer in their roads at night, the deer are destroying the property around their little country chalets, and they are screaming for something to be done.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally posted by Jeff Higgins
Many states are having trouble selling all of their alloted deer tags already. Putting more tags out won't help if that is the case. Hunter numbers are on the decline just about everywhere. There are a lot of reasons for declining numbers of hunters. Urbanization, lack of access to private land, overbearing game departments and their silly rules, many other uses for their liesure time, etc.

In many areas that actually have hunters that would use the tags, the local residents won't put up with it. Typically happens in the more rural suburban areas popluated by city folks that wanted to move out to "the country". They can't stand the thought of hunters killing "their" deer. They have created quite a quandry for themselves; they won't allow hunting, they feed the deer, and finally wind up with a population problem. Now they are hitting deer in their roads at night, the deer are destroying the property around their little country chalets, and they are screaming for something to be done.

SPOT ON!

[john70t]

+1. Metrosexuals wanting to play Redneck, but not realizing the SUV/Harley isn't a instant ticket.

[DaveE]

Here in the West-Central PA mountains the hunters for years argued that they need more licenses or extending the season to manage / lower the deer herd. Over the last few years I've seen fewer and fewer deer kills on the highways so now all the hunters complain there are too many licenses, the seasons are too long....etc. No more 8-points out there.

[legion]

Originally posted by Jeff Higgins
overbearing game departments and their silly rules

That seems to be the biggest thing to me. In Illinois, you can't hunt on private land unless you have 40 acres (or permission from an owner with 40 acres). Most public hunting areas only allow bow hunting. Hunting with guns is only shotguns with slugs or muzzleloaders. You have to submit an application for a hunting license for a given season in the summer, and then you are later notified if you have been granted a license and are allowed to buy deer tags.

If you actually manage to kill a deer, you have to tag it immediately and call in your kill. (I guess if you hunt in an area with bad cell-phone reception the DNR is more than happy to confiscate your kill.) You must field dress your deer before loading it into (or onto) your vehicle.

[304065]

My favorite form of deer contraceptive is the . . .
. . . Federal 'Barnes Expander!"

Just had some Venison Chili for the Super-Duper-Bowl, outstanding.

[wludavid]

Originally posted by Jeff Higgins
Many states are having trouble selling all of their alloted deer tags already. Putting more tags out won't help if that is the case. Hunter numbers are on the decline just about everywhere. There are a lot of reasons for declining numbers of hunters. Urbanization, lack of access to private land, overbearing game departments and their silly rules, many other uses for their liesure time, etc.

In many areas that actually have hunters that would use the tags, the local residents won't put up with it. Typically happens in the more rural suburban areas popluated by city folks that wanted to move out to "the country". They can't stand the thought of hunters killing "their" deer. They have created quite a quandry for themselves; they won't allow hunting, they feed the deer, and finally wind up with a population problem. Now they are hitting deer in their roads at night, the deer are destroying the property around their little country chalets, and they are screaming for something to be done.

Ha. My parents own 1 acre in an exurban area outside of DC. The county allows bowhunting on private land with a permit. Just wait till doe season and you can have all the venison you want, provided you can hit a target the size of a coffee can from 50 feet. (Not that hard.)

[Overpaid Slacker]

Originally posted by Jim Richards
Where's the pro-life outrage?

Yah, you'd think the pinheads would be fawning all over this issue!

JP

[slakjaw]

Originally posted by Jeff Higgins
Many states are having trouble selling all of their alloted deer tags already. Putting more tags out won't help if that is the case. Hunter numbers are on the decline just about everywhere. There are a lot of reasons for declining numbers of hunters. Urbanization, lack of access to private land, overbearing game departments and their silly rules, many other uses for their liesure time, etc.

In many areas that actually have hunters that would use the tags, the local residents won't put up with it. Typically happens in the more rural suburban areas popluated by city folks that wanted to move out to "the country". They can't stand the thought of hunters killing "their" deer. They have created quite a quandry for themselves; they won't allow hunting, they feed the deer, and finally wind up with a population problem. Now they are hitting deer in their roads at night, the deer are destroying the property around their little country chalets, and they are screaming for something to be done.

TURE

Nebraska has not sold out on deer permits for several years. Here in Minnysoder, they were giving away doe permits with the perchase of a buck permit. On top of that 1 permit would get you up to 4 or 7 deer depending on what area you hunted.

Private land is a big issue. Farmers have found they can make money by leasing out the "hunting rights" on their land. You have 1 or a few guys who can hunt a huge amount of land, and the rest of us are SOL.

Younger kids just are not into hunting anymore.

[cstreit]

Think of the Bambis! Won't someone PLEASE think of the BABMIS?!

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally posted by slakjaw
TURE

Nebraska has not sold out on deer permits for several years. Here in Minnysoder, they were giving away doe permits with the perchase of a buck permit. On top of that 1 permit would get you up to 4 or 7 deer depending on what area you hunted.

Private land is a big issue. Farmers have found they can make money by leasing out the "hunting rights" on their land. You have 1 or a few guys who can hunt a huge amount of land, and the rest of us are SOL.

Younger kids just are not into hunting anymore.

The leasing of hunting rights on private land will kill the sport as we know it today. It will become the sport of the moneyed upper class, just as in Europe and the U.K. My Opa, who was an avid hunter in Germany between the wars and after the second world war, warned me of this before he died. He was pushed out of the sport before I was born due to the expense of acquiring hunting leases, or joining clubs that had.

With the rise in stature from the sport of the common man to the sport of the upper class comes a great deal of change, and none for the better. The most profound is the lack of support from that common man, who can no longer hunt. But he can still vote. When hunting rights issues hit the ballots, he no longer has an interest in voting to support them. Look at fox hunting in the U.K. for a great example.

We have been seeing "trespass fees" here in Washington for some time now. Farmers and ranchers have learned that access to their land is valuable monetarily to some; fees go up to a couple of grand a year, per head. There is starting to be some backlash on this.

In Wyoming, public land grazing rights are tied to free public access to ranch land. Ranchers actually place a container of some sort on each gate, in which hunters deposit stubs from their licenses to prove access. No stubs, or not enough stubs coupled with complaints from hunters, and sorry; no public land grazing next year. Granted, the really big land owners don't have to care, but it seems to work well with the smaller ones that rely upon public land.

Years ago one of our bigger and more popular mule deer areas had its ranchers' association get into a tiff with our game department. The ranchers ended up closing their land to hunting that year; virtually one and all. Their only problem was they weren't astute enough to round up their cattle and secure them on their land. They vastly underestimated hunters' reactions to this imprompeteau closure. I was seeing dead cows everywhere; shot by hunters. I bet losses ran into the millions of dollars. They never tried that again.

Yes, this private land access issue is getting bigger every year. Our game departments don't seem to be addressing it in an effective manner. There is no easy answer, either. I'm not comfortable with schemes to force access upon land owners, but I am comfortable with providing them attractive incentives to allow public access. If they don't want to allow access, in the end it should be up to them. Most, however, do get some kind of government funded assistance, incentives, tax breaks, or whatever. Tying those to playing nice with the hunting public seems a viable answer; Wyoming's version of it seems to work for them. No public access? Fine. No public help.

[Jim Richards]

Originally posted by Overpaid Slacker
Yah, you'd think the pinheads would be fawning all over this issue!

JP

LOL! He said "fawning."