Why Deer Hunting is The Key to Maintaining a Healthy and Stable Population

Hunting is a major controversy as it is part of gun control arguments which inevitably makes strong political conservation arguments from both sides. It is a topic that all depends on the person you ask. Opinions are diverse as regional changes and lifestyles affect them. To some hunting is more than just a sport; it is a way of life. The potential to score out a massive buck or simply the pride entailed with filling your own freezer to save a few dollars at the store, but that’s not all hunters gather for. Hunting is an age-old tradition, that has taught many how to behave and respect nature and the wildlife within. Being around for millions of years, it has become an inseparable part of life across the globe. Still to this day, there are people that rely on hunting as a main food source. It is a natural way of obtaining food because wild animals generally live on a natural diet. Whitetail and mule deer may be one of the most sought-after game in the Alberta. With regulations in place, it ensures the species does not become over hunted. But having too many deer can also cause serious problems. An increase in the amount of deer could lead to starvation due to habitat carrying capacities reaching their max. When animals are starving, they are more prone to diseases such as lyme disease and tapeworms. The hunt helps farmers with their crops. Farmers usually appreciated hunters as deer tend to feed off their crops resulting in loss of food and income for them. If we stopped hunting habitats and crops would be damaged, deer could become a threat to humans, and diseases would go rampant.

Hunting is a vital tool when it comes to managing the deer population. Without wildlife management, species will become overpopulated and exceed their carrying capacity. When there is a surplus that exceeds carrying capacity, there is limited resources to feed these animals. Taking a shot from a hunter is a much more humane way for a deer to die. Starvation can be a very slow and painful death. So by reducing the number of deer, it creates more food resources. Not only can humans have big impact on a habitat or land, but other animals can as well. Without this reduction, more farmers crops will be ruined. Deer can be a farmers worst nightmare. Farmers rely on these crops as their own sources of food and income. So it can be very frustrating when deer come and damage them. Not only do they feed on crops, but they drastically change the composition and structure of forests. This has led to recruitment failure for many species of trees and lower forest productivity. This can result in severe long lasting effects. There are several other animals such as birds and smaller animals that also rely on these plants for a food source. Deer can create long lasting damage to many plants decreasing food sources for other species. Hunting allows us to use our best efforts in making sure the deer population, as well as other species and animals, have enough resources to survive.

Deer moving into residential areas can be dangerous. The hunt keeps populations of deer from reaching such levels that they become an issue within towns and urban residential areas. Deer have been known to be aggressive animals when encountered with humans and domestic pets. Take for example the incident that occured awhile back in Vancouver Island. There were several reported incidents of doe’s being aggressive towards dogs and their owners. We must try our best to keep them out of towns so further incidents don’t occur. But suburban living has pushed animals out of their homes and the undeveloped areas they live in are becoming more scarce. We intruded on their habitat, but that’s the reality of growing human populations. There must be tradeoffs. One of these tradeoffs when it comes to wildlife is making reasonable accommodations for hunters. We must use them as a management tool in order to keep the deer population in check. If people didn’t hunt, there would be a drastik spike in numbers resulting in dangerous situations. The overpopulation of deers in suburban areas can become a particularly dangerous situation when it comes to vehicular accidents. The chances of hitting a deer will go up drastically. The unfortunate event of hitting a deer often causes financial and physical harm to the operators and a messy death to the animal; not a great memory for either party. So keeping the numbers intact has a major factor with human-deer encounters.

Many believe in Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, but there are several others who have proved him wrong. Survival of the fittest can only go so far. Hunting is a way of tracking and maintaining the deer population to avoid plagues of disease such as chronic wasting. A pandemic like this can spread like a wildfire and drop deer populations drastically to unsafe levels. Chronic waste disease is a progressive disease that attacks the nervous system. It is most commonly found in the cervid population which includes: whitetail deer, mule deer, elk, and reindeer. Hunters are one of the greatest tools used in managing wildlife diseases as they are the reason these cases are usually detected. Money obtained from taxes and licenses can go towards finding cures for said disease. The samples collected from harvested deer can be used to research and controlling the spread of diseases. In Alberta specifically, it is mandatory in Southern and Eastern parts of the province that deer head submissions are tested for chronic waste disease. Generally animals that are detected with CWD will be euthanized as there is currently no cure for said disease. An example occurred to me a few days ago when I was out hunting with a friend. He shot a whitetail doe and we soon realized the butt of the deer was open. It looked quite infected and had puss oozing out. Although it could have just been another animal that got her, there is a possibility that it is chronic waste disease. If this deer tests positive for CWD, we will have helped prevent the spread of the disease.

The hunt is a great way of preventing habitats and crops from being damaged, deer from being a problem with humans, and the spread of disease. A lot of the times farmers rely on hunters to ensure the deer population is managed. A damaged crop is a lot of lost income. With humans expanding into their habitats, deer are being forced into towns where they can pose a threat to humans and domestic pets safety. It is important that we can allow for a balance between space and numbers in order to prevent further incidents. The harvested bodies from hunting can be of great help when it comes to researching diseases. And the money brought in from taxes, licenses, tags, and equipment can also back research. Many people are concerned with the results of over hunting deer. Several regulations have been put in place to ensure the safety of the deer population. For example, there are seasons put in place to limit the time people can hunt. Depending on the province, laws have been set on the amount of tags you can have per season. The 2018 white tails season in Alberta allowed each hunter to have one deer. Alberta also currently has draws for mule deer. The average person usually only gets drawn every five years for a mule deer tag. Overpopulation of one animal can lead to the reduction of another. Hunting helps the ecosystem have a good balance from predators. Few hunting regulations have been put on pest animals such as wolves and coyotes that can also drastically drop the deer population. Reducing the predators that also kill deer is another way of maintaining the population. Hunting is an ethical way of managing the population of deer and will hopefully exist through many further generations.

References:

• Alberta Food Inspection Agency (March 2018) Chronic Wasting Disease http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/diseases/reportable/cwd/fact-sheet/eng/1330189947852/1330190096558
• Motherboard (June 2017) Extremely Angry Deer are Terrorizing the People of Vancouver Island Retrieved from https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/zmenny/deer-saanich-police-vancouver-island
• Cool Green Science (August 2013) Too Many Deer: A Bigger Threat to Eastern Forests Than Climate Change https://blog.nature.org/science/2013/08/22/too-many-deer/