After reading this article all I can say is that I really hope town residents will attend the Weston Deer Friends forum at the library on the evening of May 1. Sadly, the Con Com hasn't been telling residents the whole story about the science behind bow hunting and deer population management. Leading scientists, some of whom will be speaking on the forum's panel, have said over and over again that deer populations in suburbs like Weston can't be controlled by hunting. There are other, more effective ways of dealing with deer. I am also disappointed that the Con Com hasn't been up front with residents in regards to the statistics. They have made residents think that both deer/car collisions and the incidents of Lyme disease are on the rise in our town when actually the records show that both were declining before the hunting program began. This was extremely misleading! Come to the Weston Deer Friends forum for accurate data and to hear about safe solutions from scientists and researchers who understand the complexity of this issue.

Our 3 selectmen should never have made a game changer of a decision like this for the town. Instead, they should have presented their idea to the voters at town meeting.

Fortunately the voters of Weston will have the chance to vote to take back our town forests from the hunters on Monday, May 13 at town meeting.

One has to question the depth of understanding of a study that results in supporting violence as the only viable option. As a sane person, I cannot accept that there is only one option and that is bow hunting. Give us something else!!!

I refuse to believe that violence is a means to solve a problem which we are not sure has any scientific validity. Brian Donahue says (in a guest column in the Town Crier) that he does not want his children to grow up in a "zoo". I do not want anyone's children to grow up in a community which advocates and support and implements violence to animals.
Carol Ott

The KEY question in the deer hunting debate is NOT if you like hunting or not, the key question is: "IF there is a deer problem in Weston, will it be solved by hunting deer with bow and arrow?" The answer -based on scientific data- is a resounding NO. In the coming weeks, there will be 3 educational forums where the people of Weston will have a chance to hear from real experts on the issue of deer hunting. Weston Deer Friends is sponsoring one of the Forums on May 1st, at 7 pm in the Library.
The decision by the Selectmen last year to allow bow and arrow hunting of deer in our public lands, was based on a flawed report from the Conservation Commission. I encourage people to read Brian Donahue's Guest Column in yesterday's Town Crier, so that you realize the bias of the Conservation Commission, and how it had a pre-conceived idea that deer hunting was OK, even before they starting their "studies".
Please VOTE in our Annual Town Meeting to end Bow and Arrow hunting in our public lands.

Weston residents need to be given accurate information and allowed to voice their opinion. Once it has been established that there is a real problem with deer ( I am not convinced that there is), then a humane solution must be sought.
Last year the wooded land next to us was clear cut, all the trees are gone and we can see our next door neighbors and down the street. To be fair, the problem was not caused because of deer eating our trees , it was caused by a builder who was alloed by the town to clear cut trees.

I am in support of controlled hunting on town land in Weston. As a mother of three (and caregiver to a young child who has had Lyme), a nurse, and an avid gardener I do whatever I can to keep deer off my property but waving my arms, yelling when I see them, shiny objects, ‘fencing’ of fish line at the height of the neck of the deer, and strategically placed bars of Irish Spring soap really are not enough. I would not have been in favor of bow hunting had I not taken the time to get educated on the facts of both the behavior of the wild deer population in our area and the safe practices of bow hunting. The science behind arrow trajectory and angles of arrow flight as well as the detailed process of permitting for hunting leave me assured that this practice is safe and should continue on town land.
More and more towns are considering controlled bow hunting as a means of deer population management leading me to believe that, if we work together, we will be able to bring the numbers of deer per square mile down to a reasonable level. http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1890059122/More-towns-consider-deer-hunting-to-curtail-population?photo=0

It is appalling that animal rights activists care more about the rights of deer than they care about the health of our children. Children are the group at highest risk for Lyme disease, which can cause crippling arthritis and brain damage. The deer tick also infects us with four other known diseases including babesiosis and anaplasmosis, both of which can be fatal. The wise residents of Monhegan Island ME and Mumford Cove CT ended their Lyme epidemics by removing the deer. This works because deer are key to the reproductive success of the deer tick. The adult egg-laying deer tick requires a sizeable mammal to feed on, and 95% feed on deer. Estimates are that ticks from just one deer can produce up to a million tick eggs per season. The adult egg-laying tick cannot feed on a mouse, although immature non-egg-laying ticks can. Without eggs there are no ticks. Without ticks we are in no danger from tick-borne illness. Consider ticks like dirty needles. The deer coat our yards and neighborhoods with tick eggs making nature a danger rather than a pleasure. Shame on those who protect the deer's right to infect us. This is inhumane. The deer epidemic caused the Lyme epidemic. In 1930 there were 300,000 deer in the US. Today there are 30 million. There has never been a Lyme epidemic in the absence of deer. Deer can be controlled by hunting or by professional sharpshooters who lure deer into fenced-in "clover traps". The nation's public health should be our top priority.

Mr. Conservationist, you called animal rights activists terrorists in another Patch post today as an excuse for not using your real name.
Here you suggest that I could be charged with harassment for calling the Weston P.D. when my husband and I observed a bow hunter on private property clearly marked "No Hunting."
He had been standing on the other side of a pond and about 50' from our road for some time, because when my husband got home from his walk and told me, I was shocked and decided to walk over with him to check this out. The law does not allow hunting within 150' of a road or within 500' of a house. He was both.
Why did I call the police? Well, the hunter was still standing in the same spot, so I yelled out that he wasn't allowed to hunt there. What was his response? To slink off into the woods, without saying a thing.
This was 8am on November 23, 2012, according to the police report which I obtained today in response to your post. I find it instructive that you are aware of this incident which I reported in the Weston Town Crier several months ago, after the Con Com came out with a report claiming that the hunting had been incident free. But they're still clueless.
In fact, children and adults have been traumatized by seeing wounded deer, running through their yards or on the streets in town.
There is something so creepy about armed men in camo refusing to identify themselves. Same goes for those who rage on the page, hiding behind a pseudonym.