Village mulls birth control to trim herd

[fasteddie]

Village mulls birth control to trim herd

Community overrun by deer, residents complain

Jim Fitzgerald

The Associated Press

HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON — This suburban village overlooking the Hudson River is a mere 2 square miles, home to a hip down­town, neighborhoods of neatly kept homes and an ever-growing population of deer that overrun woods, chew through gar­dens and cause more than a dozen car crashes a year.

Grasping for a way to control the deer without hunting the animals, lead­ers of this village of 7,900 have proposed an ambi­tious compromise to shoot them up — not with bul­lets but with birth control.

Scientists and humane groups hope the program, which seeks to capture and inject female white­tailed deer with a contra­ceptive made from pigs’ ovaries, can become a model for other places that are too congested or compassionate to consid­er killing.

“We’re hearing all about ‘Don’t kill Bambi’ and all the jokes about deer condoms,” Mayor Peter Swiderski said. “People are having their little chuckles. But deer have a pretty big negative effect on the community.”

Under the plan, which will begin this winter if approved by the state De­partment of Environmen­tal Conservation, as many as 90 percent of the does in Hastings will be tran­quilized, inoculated with the contraceptive, then tagged and released. The deer population is esti­mated at up to 120, a densi­ty of 60 per square mile. That’s three times the deer density that some studies have tied to a de­cline in plant and animal species. The goal is a 35 percent to 40 percent reduction in five years. Stephanie Boyles Grif­fin, a senior director at the Humane Society of the United States, said, “There are thousands of communities in the U.S. that are looking for alter­native ways to manage the deer populations.” If suc­cessful, she said, “Has­tings would be the first open suburb in the U.S. to manage deer exclusively through the use of immu­nocontraception.”

Swiderski said he had heard about such experi­ments and approached ex­pert Allen Rutberg, direc­tor of the Center for Ani­mals and Public Policy at Tufts University. Rutberg went for a walk in Hastings, saw plenty of deer and deer damage, and figured the village would make an in­teresting experiment.

“For me, the idea is to intervene in the lives of the deer as little as possi­ble, to allow them to min­gle with us but not to the level where they become a nuisance,” Rutberg said. “If we can avoid killing things that live in our neighborhoods, then I think we should.” The protein, called zo­na pellucida, is obtained from pork industry slaughterhouses. It cre­ates antibodies in deer — and elephants and horses — that prevent fertiliza­tion.

The mayor said dozens of residents have volun­teered to monitor deer numbers and travel pat­terns and measure land­scape damage. Among them is Nancy Balaban, 85, who said she’s had to give up gar­dening in her yard be­cause “the deer just ate everything down to the ground. Hostas, tulips, even holly bushes.”

She especially laments the damage to Hastings’ “beautiful treasure,” its village forest, where hardly anything green can be seen from the ground to 6 or 7 feet up the tree trunks.

“All the saplings are eaten,” Balaban said. “It’s going to end up being a desert.”

Rutberg said the forest damage also affects “the critters that live in the vegetation: ground-nest­ing birds, small rodents, amphibians.”

Some neighbors have erected tall wrought-iron fencing, coupled with net­ting, to keep the beasts out of their gardens.

Balaban said that’s too expensive. She limits her puttering now to a few pots of flowering bego­nias and bacopa on a sec­ond- floor balcony. “The deer haven’t learned to fly yet,” she said.

The mayor said he sus­pects most Hastings resi­dents would support a kill­ing program, but oppo­nents could delay or sabo­tage it.

“I’m picturing kids on TV with signs that say ‘Don’t shoot the deer,’ ” he said. The Humane Society and In Defense of Ani­mals are helping to pay for the experiment, which will probably cost at least $30,000 for the first two years. Although the does have to be treated every two or three years, they don’t have to be captured again once they’re tagged and that will keep labor costs down. Subsequent doses can be delivered by dart, Rutberg said. The Humane Society supports the program be­cause “our major focus is to encourage people to tol­erate wild animals and co­exist with them,” Griffin said. Barbara Stagno of In Defense of Animals said, “There’s a lot of killing of wildlife under the guise of not being able to cohabit. It happens with geese, it happens with deer. Killing rarely is the answer.” Rutberg has run simi­lar experiments on Fripp Island, S.C., and on the en­closed grounds of the Na­tional Institute of Stan­dards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md. Be­cause Hastings is neither an island nor fenced in, there’s a risk of deer from elsewhere moving in and affecting the numbers. But Rutberg said that makes it more of a real­world experiment.

He added, however, that deer tend to stay within a quarter-mile of where they’re born. “They obviously like it here,” he said. “They’re native, they belong in our forests. But maybe not at 60 per square mile.”
 

Nancy Balaban of Hastings-on-Hudson inspects deer damage to a cypress tree in her yard. The village plans to inject does with a contraceptive to reduce the deer population. JIM FITZGERALD/AP

A doe and two fawns look up from their grazing in a field in Hastings-on-Hudson last week. JIM FITZGERALD/AP

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Copyright © 2013 Democrat and Chronicle 08/04/2013

 

[ANTLERS]

Once again a theory that is expensive and will end in failure like it always has in the past."deer stay within a quarter mile from we're they are now"....really.?!. I guess during the fall rut deer don't travel miles to seek their own core areas or receptive mates.i guess the deer in other areas will not wander in to that town.

[growalot]

The protein, called zo­na pellucida, is obtained from pork industry slaughterhouses. It cre­ates antibodies in deer — and elephants and horses — that prevent fertiliza­tion.

 

That just sounds brilliant to me...really it stops fertilization but not the reproductive cycle that puts them in heat?...Now what you have are deer going into heat more often and buck rutting for a longer period which is...WHEN MOST OF THE CAR COLLITIONS HAPPEN...Not to mention the tole that rutting that long takes on a buck during winter causing...long suffering deaths.......Gee sounds like a plan to me...for all those doe they are saving ..well they won't continue to eat all their favorite foods and the problem will just poof! go away...ya right

[BizCT]

Hastings is like 10-15min from me. Interesting stuff.

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[crappyice]

Start knocking on doors biz

[Doc]

Lol ..... periodically, this subject comes up with different municipalities. They just have to go through the research and eventually blow off the idea as being totally impractical. Although I will say that with only "up to" 120 deer to deal with, it might work out for them.

 

I will say in this age of unimagineable technology, there may come a day when they can get something like this to work. I never rule any of that stuff out anymore.

 

To me, it seems like hunting is becoming a bit marginal as a population control in some parts. You may see the day when even the DEC starts looking into alternative population controls...... Never say "never".

[Vince1]

cant understand why they rush to the expensive option first, that money could be used elswhere.

 

if there was bowhunting up there during school hours or close that park for a bit i would love to take a short drive up tehre.

[jjb4900]

if it's all private land, I would guess the property owners hold the cards.........you would have to get the majority of the people to agree to hunting, especially if the houses are close together.........I would also think it would take 4-5 years to see any impact with the birth control plan.

[Doc]

If the situation is as dire as they claim, getting permission should not be all that difficult.

[Lawdwaz]

How are they going to "trap" these deer? Then what do you do, spray paint a number on them so you don't get the same one two or three times? I can just see these deer with their pretty ear tags with numbers on them, running "wild" in town! The financial end of it will sure be a hit with the residents, probably the talk of choice down at Starbucks.

No way will it happen. As mentioned earlier, this comes up every couple years and then slowly fades away and out come the silenced .223's to get 'er done. Sad but true.

[BizCT]

Start knocking on doors biz

I don't bowhunt, so westchester is out for me.

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[BizCT]

I don't think there is much woods in this town. Not sure how even a sharpshooter can safely shoot these deer.

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[2012_taco]

How are they going to "trap" these deer? Then what do you do, spray paint a number on them so you don't get the same one two or three times? I can just see these deer with their pretty ear tags with numbers on them, running "wild" in town! The financial end of it will sure be a hit with the residents, probably the talk of choice down at Starbucks.

No way will it happen. As mentioned earlier, this comes up every couple years and then slowly fades away and out come the silenced .223's to get 'er done. Sad but true.

wait until the first car / deer collision with a tagged deer. They can not reproduce but they are still out there. LOL I wish the local town board could be convinced that regulated archery could help. Here in Amherst it is just easier to pay overtime to the police to do bait and shoot.

[Vince1]

To bow hunt her u would need the permision of everyone within 500 feet. Correct? Thats alot of doors to knock on as im sure those houses are close

[BizCT]

Pic attached.

[Elmo]

The houses here are pretty packed.  I drive through here all the time when I go hunting and pass several groups of deer all the time.  The biggest stretch of grass is along the highway which means any thing shot with an arrow will inevitably run across a busy highway.  The fact that they're considering this plan gives me the hint that the home owners here are not very welcoming to hunters.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Elmo

[jjb4900]

you would think a local archery club would arrange to hold a meeting in the town to explain to the residents how successful controlling deer by hunting can be.......not to mention a lot cheaper than birth control. I'm sure they could get a biologist from DEC to make an appearance.

[mac]

and east of that is Sprain park , the reservoir and golf courses. to the north another park where they are buried .  drive the thruway in the fall with caution

[BizCT]

you would think a local archery club would arrange to hold a meeting in the town to explain to the residents how successful controlling deer by hunting can be.......not to mention a lot cheaper than birth control. I'm sure they could get a biologist from DEC to make an appearance.

 

Never going to happen, deer get show with an arrow then run 100 yards and die. Those 100 yards could be through 4-5 different backyards.

[mike rossi]

How are they going to "trap" these deer? Then what do you do, spray paint a number on them so you don't get the same one two or three times? I can just see these deer with their pretty ear tags with numbers on them, running "wild" in town! The financial end of it will sure be a hit with the residents, probably the talk of choice down at Starbucks.

No way will it happen. As mentioned earlier, this comes up every couple years and then slowly fades away and out come the silenced .223's to get 'er done. Sad but true.

Its pretty easy to trap them and also to mark them in some way and its done all the time. Trapping is definitely the way to approach this, look at the picture posted with all those roads & houses. The stupidity is that after trapping them, they plan to release them. Once they got them they should be slaughtered, not released.(no marking required ) If they are chemically euthanized the meat cannot be donated. It would either be dispatch them as done in slaughter houses or inject a barbiturate overdose and dispose of the entire carcass.

[Lawdwaz]

From the article above........just try and think of ALL the things that could go wrong with this hair brain scheme.  $30k for two years?  You really have to be kidding me..........

 

“I’m picturing kids on TV with signs that say ‘Don’t shoot the deer,’ ” he said. The Humane Society and In Defense of Ani­mals are helping to pay for the experiment, which will probably cost at least $30,000 for the first two years. Although the does have to be treated every two or three years, they don’t have to be captured again once they’re tagged and that will keep labor costs down. Subsequent doses can be delivered by dart, Rutberg said. The Humane Society supports the program be­cause “our major focus is to encourage people to tol­erate wild animals and co­exist with them,” Griffin said. Barbara Stagno of In Defense of Animals said, “There’s a lot of killing of wildlife under the guise of not being able to cohabit. It happens with geese, it happens with deer. Killing rarely is the answer.” Rutberg has run simi­lar experiments on Fripp Island, S.C., and on the en­closed grounds of the Na­tional Institute of Stan­dards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md. Be­cause Hastings is neither an island nor fenced in, there’s a risk of deer from elsewhere moving in and affecting the numbers. But Rutberg said that makes it more of a real­world experiment."  (END OF ARTICLE)

 

I could just see two darters in subsequent years, one with the clip board and chart holding all the numbers of darted deer and those that need a booster.  He/she has a pair of cheap binos and is trying to read a number on the ever moving doe deer's ear.  Then while checking the scorecard, tells the shooter to whack her in the azz.  Damn the luck, she's gone!!  All this is taking place in some house on 23rd street up on the 2nd floor as the deer is munching on the arborvitae shrub.

[BizCT]

Sounds like somebody shot a deer in Hastings last December. I found this:

 

The meeting took place in the context of continued deer hunting reports to Hastings police.

A resident called Hastings police on Dec. 8 to report a deer that had suffered from three or four wounds—apparently from an arrow, Hastings Police Chief David Bloomer said. Since the deer was reported seen in the eastern section of the Hillside Woods—still within Hastings PD's jurisdiction—but very close to the Saw Mill River Parkway—an area patrolled by County Police, Hastings Police referred the call to Westchester County.

Bloomer said previous Hastings police blotter entries this year have reported "possible hunting in the Hillside Woods"—though no dead or injured animals or hunters have been located, Bloomer said.

The reason bow hunting is not legal in Hastings is that state law requires a 100-foot diameter circle with no houses. In Hastings, no such place exists.

According to an article published on Nov. 30 in the Journal News, "Conservation officers say they've ticketed more than 70 people for illegal hunting in eastern New York since late October."

There have been no tickets issued in Hastings for illegal hunting this year, said Lt. David Dosin. Nor does he remember his department issuing any tickets in recent years.

According to officials at the DEC, "Westchester County is a high volume area for illegal hunting."

"Since it is still hunting season we have not been able to process all the tickets for the region," said Lisa King, a DEC public information officer.

According to Swiderski, "The DEC is interested in our willingness to run this [immunocontraception] experiment and would be happy to work with us. So we may have something that will address the [deer] issue."

[mac]

that mentions 100 ft diameter with no houses.  thought the regulation should have read 500ft ? just a typo?

[mike rossi]

According to Swiderski, "The DEC is interested in our willingness to run this [immunocontraception] experiment and would be happy to work with us. So we may have something that will address the [deer] issue."

 

LOL...  The mayor and Tuffs University would have to get a special permit from the DEC to do this....

[Chef]

I live In Ardsley a town that borders Hastings and to be honest it torutre the amount of big deer that I see here on a daily basis is nuts there is plenty of room in the woods that border the saw mill from Hastings all the way to where the parkway hits 287 to allow bow hunting... Even In Ardsley there are some wooded areas that are big enough it's just all the clueless animal lovers in the area that would never support hunting.... I wish there was enough of us in the area to lobby to allow hunting