On July 11, 2017 @ 6:30 p.m. a plan to hunt deer in our township will be presented to the full Board of Commissioners by the members of the Public Safety, Works and Service committee.
This plan will be part archery, which has been going on since the Fall of 2009 and continuing until the end of January the following year. So far, the average of 27 deer were taken by archers who sat for 1300 hours in tree stands. The commissioners are considering including sharpshooting using lead ammo.
The USDA APHIS Wildlife Services says Upper Dublin has 52.7 deer/sq. mi., and suggest that only 10 deer/sq. mi. should walk our area.
Since Wildlife Services used the infrared mechanism which sees only about 86% of deer through deciduous trees and only 60 – 80% in pine forests, this is not the 100% accuracy we need to input data into their deer density estimator.
The deer density estimator must have a model programmed into it with assumptions that are adjusted to the terrain. Even so, the estimator could over estimate or underestimate the deer population.
We believe, the Wildlife Services grossly overestimated the number of deer living in the 13.2 sq. miles of our township because the number is 700 +/- . This is a tremendously high number when the technicians only counted 129 deer the first time and 121 the second time.
Now Wildlife Services recommends taking out about 570 deer so there are only 10/sq. mi. left – so they say. At $150 – $200/deer, the costs could be $85,500 – $114,000. They recommend yearly deer surveys not factored into the price and police time costs are not in these figures either.
Of course, the emotional toll of deer killing carries a heavy price that cannot be fathomed. Wildlife Services even recommend that the township “educate” the residents to open their yards to archers and sharpshooters to increase the safety perimeters, since so much of the township is developed and open spaces are fragmented.
No one oversees the USDA Wildlife Services regarding their surveys, their set up and their methods for taking down deer. They use lead bullets that fragment and scatter shard/lead upon impact with bone. This lead can infect deer meat up to 1.5 ft away from the bullet wound when fired from a high powered rifle. Lead shot can leave particles, dust and residues in deer meat.
No doubt, the soil is just as contaminated with lead residue. This would be devastating to children who play barefoot or for our furry friends.
Killing innocent deer is a sin. Lead contamination is disastrous to humans and wildlife.
Non-lethal methods need to be used to handle deer that we don’t have many of in our township.
Upper Dublin Deer 