We, the undersigned, implore Alabama's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to utilize non-lethal means of deer population-control in Oak Mountain State park.
We ask you to carefully examine the options for deer 'management' in Oak Mountain State Park. Decisions made in the near future will have wide implications for our community, and will set the precedent for how the deer will be treated in the future.
Unwanted plants are called 'weeds', and likewise, unwanted animals are called 'pests.' Once an unfortunate creature is deemed a 'pest,' thoughts of extermination are entertained. The deer ceases to exist in people's minds as a gentle, warm-blooded being who is nurtured by her mother, takes joy in running through the woods, has a personality as individual as one's dog or cat, experiences fear at the sound of gun shots, and suffers greatly when her flesh is ripped open by bullets or arrows. None of this seems to matter when, ironically, she is viewed as an obstacle to our enjoyment of nature.
Declaring war on the deer and implementing a mass execution will initially reduce their numbers, but scientific studies show that the surviving deer have reduced competition for food and mates, which translates into higher reproductive rates the following spring. This means the population will not stabilize at a lower level, and the culling (killing) operation will not just be performed once, but will bring sharp shooters and spilled blood into our community for many years to come.
We must remember in all of this that there are impressionable young people who are watching how we solve our problems. If we conclude that the way to deal with life that we don't like is to snuff it out, if we find it acceptable to destroy those who irritate us or get in the way of our enjoyment, that message will be heard loud and clear by our children.
However, if we approach the challenge of deer overpopulation in Oak Mountain State Park with care and compassion, and if we decide to work with non-lethal methods: contraceptives, sterilization, trapping / relocating, and other methods - our children will get a different message about how to relate to those with whom we experience conflict. Stabilizing the deer population through humane means will take time and patience, and it may take a couple seasons for the results to be felt, but they will be lasting results achieved without violence.
Unlike the deer, we have a choice in this matter, along with the wisdom to know that what we sow, we shall reap.
Therefore, we, the undersigned, implore you to explore and implement humane / non-lethal methods to reduce and stabilize the deer population of Oak Mountain State Park.
