I will start this letter by saying I am an avid deer hunter. This is not a letter from an animal-rights activist. Over the last 30 plus years I have taken many deer.
There is a current program implemented by the Indiana DNR that allows deer to be killed in the name of herd reduction because of crop damage done by deer. The deer killed during this current program are not being used for meat. Deer are being tossed into pits per DNR instruction. This current policy is being kept very quiet; word is just starting to get out. Kind of reminds me of the swan kill fiasco a few years ago. I know deer eat a certain amount of crops, but just how much damage cam be blamed on the deer will always be subject to discussion.
In my literally hundreds of hours spent in tree stands, I have had plenty of time to observe wildlife. I can say with confidence that raccoons do as much or more damage to cornfields as deer. Likewise, groundhogs can strip rows of soybeans along woods and fencerows clean. I also know car-deer collisions are a serious problem. (My thoughts are there are too many cars, not too many deer, but I have been told that is an argument I could never win).
The current program to reduce deer numbers include the killing of any and all deer, even fawns, which are newborns this time of year. Many does will be killed but not their fawns. This will result in the inevitable starvation of many fawns. This is a totally unacceptable policy from the DNR.
I contacted our local DNR biologist and asked her about the fawns that die without their mothers, and her exact reply was "Yeah, so what?" No, I am not kidding. I am not against wildlife management, however, I am appalled the DNR would choose this avenue. They are allowing the use of high-powered rifles. Requirements include use of high-powered rifles from an elevated position only. However, if used from ground level these bullets can travel for miles. This is an accident waiting to happen.
Hunting season was established years ago by the sound science of wildlife biology, (youngsters being able to survive on their own). All the sportsmen who fought for the one-buck-a-year rule just had that thrown right out the window. The DNR has already raised the limit on bonus tags for this coming season from three to eight. Why can't we wait and see what effect this has on the deer population? In order to voice your concern over this situation, visit this Web site and sign a petition to stop this poorly times kill. The Web site is gopetition.com/online/21565.html This will take you to the petition. I urge you to contact our district biologist, Linda Byer, at 574-896-3572 and voice your concerns.
