Letter to the Editor

To all Cranbrook citizens concerned with animal abuse.

Once again, the snow has melted to reveal a sea of feces on my lawn left by herds of scruffy semi domesticated deer.

I am saddened as I watch them eat shrubs double sprayed with expensive deer repellant and gnawing at supposedly “deer resistant” plants. Once the grass begins to green this spring there will be dead patches in the lawn from deer urinating on it. I watch as yet another deer defecates on my lawn while in the same frame my neighbour dutifully picks up after her small dog because, after all, dog poop has germs, right? We certainly do not tolerate dogs or cats defecating all over our town. Why deer?

I see deer wander aimlessly through town being nearly struck by vehicles or moving on when people chase them off their yards. I have seen them challenge people walking their small dogs in our neighbourhood. I have heard the hapless fawns calling for their mothers who have jumped an obstacle too high for the little ones to cross leaving them stranded behind a fence. I have seen injured deer limping yard to yard in search of food with no one to help. I watch the breeding herds rove through our neighbourhood each autumn, angry bucks raking their antlers on our trees and daring us to come too close.

As a long-time Cranbrook resident, I am appalled that the deer continue to be allowed to be “born and bred” in town to an unnatural existence of pavement and shrubbery. They have no clue to life as wild animals when born into such an environment. I am going to say it out loud, even “put it in writing” that to let this continue is animal abuse!

Why does our provincial government let this continue? Why not do the safe and humane thing by culling the deer to stop the cycle? We could then deal with the few truly wild ones that enter town on a relocation per case basis?

Duane Yearous,

Cranbrook

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