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Town leaders insist on deer sharpshooters
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Town leaders insist on deer sharpshooters
By Julie Ball
POSTED: July 18, 2002 12:23 a.m.
RALEIGH - Biltmore Forest leaders, aiming to reduce the number of deer roaming through their town, took their controversial case directly to the state Wildlife Resources Commission on Wednesday.
Town officials told the commission they want to bring in professional sharpshooters to cull an out-of-control population. The man the town wants to lead the hunt said his shooters would bait the deer and shoot them or, in some cases, use nets to trap the deer and kill them with a type of gun that fires a retractable bolt into the animal's head.
The wildlife commission took no action during the Wednesday meeting, but members may take up the matter in August, according to Richard Hamilton, the commission's assistant director. The town needs the commission's approval before it can move ahead.
The town, which borders the Biltmore Estate, has been trying to find a way to control the deer for years. With an estimated deer population of 200 to 350, the town of 617 homes has argued that the deer make driving dangerous and are pests that ruin expensive landscaping.
Commission members have already rejected the idea of sharpshooters once, recommending that the town try "less controversial" methods of deer control, such as fencing and repellents. Members of the commission pledged to keep an open mind during Wednesday's meeting, which was arranged by several Western North Carolina lawmakers.
The debate boiled down to a philosophical question over the most humane method to kill deer, said Tony DiNicola, who runs the company Biltmore Forest wants to hire. White Buffalo is a non-profit group based in Connecticut that specializes in deer-herd management.
"Is it appropriate to kill deer in a nonrecreational fashion? That's really what's on the table right now. That's what needs to be discussed here."
Chuck Rice, executive director of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, questioned the sharpshooter hunt.
"My biggest objections have to do with what I consider the ethics of the methods proposed," he said.
Town commissioners acknowledge their plan will be controversial. Biltmore Forest Mayor Ramona Rowe said, "At this point, we feel we have reached critical mass."
"There's no easy solution," said Town Commissioner George Goosmann.
DiNicola said White Buffalo sharpshooters would bait the deer to selected locations, most likely using corn. They would then shoot them from elevated locations. The sharpshooters would only aim for the head, he said.
In some circumstances, the sharpshooters may use drop nets to trap the animals and captive bolt guns to kill them. Captive bolts are widely used to slaughter livestock. Meat from the deer would be donated to charities.
Also, any hunt would have to be a sustained effort conducted over several years to permanently reduce the size of the deer herd, DiNicola said.
Town officials say residents have tried just about everything to discourage the deer, from repellents to erecting illegal fences.
"They are chewing everything I put out," said William H. Keller, a Biltmore Forest resident.
Keller says something must be done. "I'm in favor of anything they can come up with," he said.
But not everyone in Biltmore Forest approves of the plan. A resident's lawsuit two years ago derailed a proposal to have bow hunters kill deer, with some animal rights groups criticizing the plan as a cruel method of killing. Others have raised questions about safety to residents.
"If we can't convince ourselves it can be done with utter safety, we're not going to do it," said Bill Brazil, a Biltmore Forest commissioner.
Contact Ball at 232-5851 or JBall@CITIZEN-TIMES.com.
http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/16683
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
By Julie Ball
POSTED: July 18, 2002 12:23 a.m.
RALEIGH - Biltmore Forest leaders, aiming to reduce the number of deer roaming through their town, took their controversial case directly to the state Wildlife Resources Commission on Wednesday.
Town officials told the commission they want to bring in professional sharpshooters to cull an out-of-control population. The man the town wants to lead the hunt said his shooters would bait the deer and shoot them or, in some cases, use nets to trap the deer and kill them with a type of gun that fires a retractable bolt into the animal's head.
The wildlife commission took no action during the Wednesday meeting, but members may take up the matter in August, according to Richard Hamilton, the commission's assistant director. The town needs the commission's approval before it can move ahead.
The town, which borders the Biltmore Estate, has been trying to find a way to control the deer for years. With an estimated deer population of 200 to 350, the town of 617 homes has argued that the deer make driving dangerous and are pests that ruin expensive landscaping.
Commission members have already rejected the idea of sharpshooters once, recommending that the town try "less controversial" methods of deer control, such as fencing and repellents. Members of the commission pledged to keep an open mind during Wednesday's meeting, which was arranged by several Western North Carolina lawmakers.
The debate boiled down to a philosophical question over the most humane method to kill deer, said Tony DiNicola, who runs the company Biltmore Forest wants to hire. White Buffalo is a non-profit group based in Connecticut that specializes in deer-herd management.
"Is it appropriate to kill deer in a nonrecreational fashion? That's really what's on the table right now. That's what needs to be discussed here."
Chuck Rice, executive director of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, questioned the sharpshooter hunt.
"My biggest objections have to do with what I consider the ethics of the methods proposed," he said.
Town commissioners acknowledge their plan will be controversial. Biltmore Forest Mayor Ramona Rowe said, "At this point, we feel we have reached critical mass."
"There's no easy solution," said Town Commissioner George Goosmann.
DiNicola said White Buffalo sharpshooters would bait the deer to selected locations, most likely using corn. They would then shoot them from elevated locations. The sharpshooters would only aim for the head, he said.
In some circumstances, the sharpshooters may use drop nets to trap the animals and captive bolt guns to kill them. Captive bolts are widely used to slaughter livestock. Meat from the deer would be donated to charities.
Also, any hunt would have to be a sustained effort conducted over several years to permanently reduce the size of the deer herd, DiNicola said.
Town officials say residents have tried just about everything to discourage the deer, from repellents to erecting illegal fences.
"They are chewing everything I put out," said William H. Keller, a Biltmore Forest resident.
Keller says something must be done. "I'm in favor of anything they can come up with," he said.
But not everyone in Biltmore Forest approves of the plan. A resident's lawsuit two years ago derailed a proposal to have bow hunters kill deer, with some animal rights groups criticizing the plan as a cruel method of killing. Others have raised questions about safety to residents.
"If we can't convince ourselves it can be done with utter safety, we're not going to do it," said Bill Brazil, a Biltmore Forest commissioner.
Contact Ball at 232-5851 or JBall@CITIZEN-TIMES.com.
http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/16683
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878