Sure, Rupert has its Feral cat fans, but then there’s Ucluelet
It’s one deer, she’s in the middle of nowhere, and she’s had it for ten years. It’s old, and lame, and they want her to just release it into the wild? What the hell is the issue with her keeping it?
Dito what the hell !!
While Ucluelet may have a small population, 1,627, it does have a population density of 238.9/km2. This is higher than Prince Rupert’s pop. density of 227.7/km2. Would anyone here find this acceptable from their neighbour knowing full well deer attract wildlife like wolves? This person has even left her deer outside for the purposes of attracting other deer for reproduction. Which we do know attracts more deer/elk which subsequently attracts more predators like wolves. How is this acceptable? The responsible thing to do is to take the deer to a rehab centre or wild life shelter like the B.C. Ministry of Environment suggested.
It wouldn’t bother us as we have a family of deer that uses our property more hours in a day than not.
And the couple of wolves we’ve had wander through our yard in the last few weeks haven’t given us reason
for concern.
[quote=“Piknic”]
It wouldn’t bother us as we have a family of deer that uses our property more hours in a day than not.
And the couple of wolves we’ve had wander through our yard in the last few weeks haven’t given us reason
for concern.[/quote]
Would you support your neighbour if they were feeding deer?
It wouldn’t be a problem for me if they
fed the wildlife.
I appreciate your honest response but condemn your indifference to public safety. Actions which lure wildlife to habituate within developed communities should be discouraged. Habituated wolves, for example, have/can attack humans, children being even more susceptible. A wolf chasing a 250 pound deer/buck at 55 feet per second through a neighbourhood is not something one would want to inadvertently run into; even while in an automobile. Someone who does something to encourage wildlife to habituate within a community is unnecessarily putting the public at increased risk. I would further add that In Ucluelet the threat of cougars are also of concern and there are recent incidents of humans being attacked.
My indifference is to the feeding of deer.
The deer are already habituated so giving them an apple isn’t going to make a difference.
The deer are here to stay, feeding or no feeding.
[quote=“Piknic”]My indifference is to the feeding of deer.
The deer are already habituated so giving them an apple isn’t going to make a difference.
The deer are here to stay, feeding or no feeding.[/quote]
This reasoning is flawed. Deer will go where the food is or they will die. Feeding deer increases urban populations which also put humans at risk of various diseases such as E-coli, Hemorrhagic diseases, Johne’s disease, Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Ehrlichiosis. Transmission is mainly from feces, urine, and ticks and can even be brought into your home from your pets or your children playing in the yard. Habituated deer can also show aggression towards humans and pets and is a common complaint in BC. Property damage is another common complaint. If you research and contact any animal/wildlife welfare organization (SPCA, Wildlife Shelters, Conservation officers, etc) they will confirm that feeding wildlife is not in the best interests of humans or the wildlife. The science supporting this is uncontested. I encourage you to research this subject further so that your “indifference” is not a mask for ignorance.
[quote=“Piknic”]My indifference is to the feeding of deer.
The deer are already habituated so giving them an apple isn’t going to make a difference.
The deer are here to stay, feeding or no feeding.[/quote]
I have to agree with you, an apple here or there isn’t going to make much difference and I think it gives us more pleasure to feed it than what the deer gets out of it ! On the rare occasion I toss out a slice of apple, they just keep walking through the yard grazing on the grass and flowers. Finicky little buggers ! Don’t go all stats and science on us Dex, it’s just an apple !!
[quote=“jamesbrown”]the story is updated, she can keep her deer…
cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c … eer-u.html[/quote]
I look forward to seeing the “plan of care” which Terry refers to next week. More importantly though my concerns are that this decision looks at the interests of the deer at the expense of the community. Reading the Ministry of Environment’s press release from their web site all I see are statements about Bimbo’s safety and nothing about any consideration for public safety. I guess we will have to wait to see the final plan next week.
The deer have been in my vicinity for years
without any encouragement from me.
We all get along just fine.
If this bothers you so much feel free to
come and remove them.
[quote=“codybear933”]
[quote=“Piknic”]My indifference is to the feeding of deer.
The deer are already habituated so giving them an apple isn’t going to make a difference.
The deer are here to stay, feeding or no feeding.[/quote]
I have to agree with you, an apple here or there isn’t going to make much difference and I think it gives us more pleasure to feed it than what the deer gets out of it ! On the rare occasion I toss out a slice of apple, they just keep walking through the yard grazing on the grass and flowers. Finicky little buggers ! Don’t go all stats and science on us Dex, it’s just an apple !![/quote]
I am under the impression you hold the SPCA under very high regard and have even advertised events, on this site, which donate all revenue to the SPCA (link below). You may even be an employee of SPCA I do not know. This is what the BC SPCA says about feeding wildlife in their FAQ, maybe your were unaware of.
Q - Is it okay to feed wildlife?
NO – by leaving food available for wildlife intentionally or unintentionally (e.g. pet food, garbage, fruit trees, hay, koi ponds) you are interfering with their natural foraging and are artificially increasing what the local environment provides for them – which can cause a population imbalance. The wild animals may also lose their fear of people which can increase their chances of being injured or killed. Wildlife can also spread and catch diseases much easier when they are gathering unnaturally such as at feeders. If you enjoy bird feeding, please use squirrel-proof feeders, clean feeders weekly, and ensure that the feeders are inaccessible to outdoor cats. If you feed hummingbirds in the winter, you must be able to defrost the feeder and any solution daily if required, to ensure they always have available nectar since they are now dependant on the feeder for the season.
spca.bc.ca/about/faqs/is-it- … dlife.html
I do not think the SPCA would share your reasoning that it is “just an apple”. The intentions may be noble and it may give the person pleasure, but it is not in the best interests of the wildlife or humans.
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=20570&p=190842&hilit=spca&sid=5dc3aedfeecc9b635aa951b67b2eee75#p190842
The SPCA also has a brochure on the subject of feeding wildlife.
Decision is made case closed!!!
Ditto
Almost !! Yes Dex, I do volunteer with the SPCA and help with the wildlife also and have never, ever been told, not even by Nancy and Gunther, not to toss a deer a piece of apple. With your logic and facts what are we supposed to do about veggie gardens and fruit trees and our flowers. Are we supposed to dig these up as they are delicacies and attractions for the deer? Really…
[quote=“codybear933”]
Ditto
Almost !! Yes Dex, I do volunteer with the SPCA and help with the wildlife also and have never, ever been told, not even by Nancy and Gunther, not to toss a deer a piece of apple. With your logic and facts what are we supposed to do about veggie gardens and fruit trees and our flowers. Are we supposed to dig these up as they are delicacies and attractions for the deer? Really…[/quote]
Responsible property owners/renters ensure wildlife cannot eat their fruit trees, flowers, vegetables, garbage, etc. I am sure a local garden centre will have adequate information on how to protect your cultivations. If not there is always the internet. May I suggest asking Nancy and Gunther about feeding wildlife, I am sure they will agree it is not a good idea and not in the best interests of the animal. Please share their response with us for educational purposes. I also find it interesting that someone can volunteer for the SPCA and the Wildlife Rehab centre yet not hear or see anything (poster, etc.) against feeding wildlife. It appears there lacks sufficient effort in getting the message out. Such an important issue as well. I must confess I am a little surprised there are so many self professed animal lovers here who are unaware of this issue, I thought it was common knowledge.