Deer are Public Enemy #1 in Other States Too

Pennsylvania has seemingly made deer public enemy #1. Who’s responsible for destroying the forests? Deer. Who is the killer running around on PA’s highways? Deer. Who is making it so gardeners can’t feed their families with homegrown plants? Deer. Who is secretly conspiring to destroy all other life form and rule the world? Deer.

It doesn’t appear we are alone in making deer public enemy #1. Vermont is doing the same. Columnist Joe Bushika writes

The Vermont Fishand Wildlife service is at it again. They propose to issue double the amount of doe permits that were issued last year for the Vermont deer season. Saying that we have too many deer, they want to reduce their numbers by shooting more does.

I remember a time when Vermont was the premium deer hunting state in the East, and out-of-state hunters flocked here to enjoy hunting at its best, but those days are long gone, due to too many doe seasons and the resultant devastation of the deer herd. For about 40 years between the 1920s and the 1960s, Vermont had a healthy and thriving bucks-only deer season, and then someone in the Fish and Wildlife hierarchy brilliantly decided to upset the balance of nature by offering several doe seasons. We had a deer herd that was successfully managing itself, and then someone decreed that what wasn’t broken had to be fixed. What we have now is the result of that unnecessary and inane decision.

Hmmm…. Sound familiar! And the similarities continue…

Even residents of the Green Mountain State are buying licenses to hunt out of state. As if we didn’t already have an abundance of deer hunting seasons, with bow and arrow hunting, youth weekend, rifle season and muzzle loader season, the wildlife service in a desperate move to justify its existence now wants to lure us into buying more licenses by offering extra doe permits.
The loss of hunters who now hunt elsewhere has also resulted in a great loss of revenue for the state. Deer hunters who once spent their vacations and money on food, lodging, gasoline and incidentals in Vermont are now contributing to the economy of other states where they are treated to at least the opportunity to witness their favorite big game animal in abundance.

Now for the truly sad part…

Visitors to Vermont no longer see the hillsides dotted with the deer that once were so plentiful, and even residents long for the sight of an animal that once graced their farms and fields. In their infinite wisdom of what is best for Vermont and its dwindling deer herd, the Fish and Wildlife Service has in my opinion, created a situation that has caused the deer herd to deteriorate to a point of no return, where the deer in Vermont will become an endangered species. Where I once found it nearly impossible to spend a day in the woods of Vermont without seeing a deer, I now may go an entire deer season without seeing so much as the flicker of a whitetail. Vermont Fish and Wildlife was once controlled and managed by the Legislature, which did an excellent job, and I believe that it’s time to return it to them.

Joe, we feel your pain. The once majestic whitetail deer is being treated like nothing more than a New York City rat. I’m sad now. So, I am going to stop writing…