Tuesday, January 18, 2005

 

Excessive deer population is leading to increased accidents, tangible ecological damage



Every biker in North America should be manifestly frightened by this story.

Here are some highlights:
"Across the country, the rising white-tailed deer population is wreaking havoc on farms, changing the ecology of forests and causing ever more motor vehicle accidents and fatalities."

"New York's Department of Environmental Conservation estimates there are now 1 million deer living in the state. Nationally, the white-tailed deer population has increased from about 500,000 in the early 1900s to 25 to 30 million today, according to various researchers."

"Michael Conover, a wildlife professor and director of the Jack Berryman Institute at Utah State University, estimates deer cause at least $750 million in damage to the United States timber industry annually."

"There were 1.5 million deer and vehicle crashes in 2003, injuring 13,713 people and causing $1.1 billion in vehicle damage..."
Just like the story says, deer have become the equivalent of vermin in North America. Tasty vermin, but vermin nonetheless.

If you ride a motorcycle, you should consider it your moral duty to get a hunting license and harvest at least two deer per year. Heck, tag-out for that matter. You can always give the extra meat to a mission or homeless shelter.

We need a large-scale campaign to get the population of these animals back down to a reasonable level.



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