Weston Con. Com. Recommends Deer Hunting Following Controversy, Opposition

After a three-hour discussion marked by differences in opinion, the Weston Conservation Commission voted on May 17 to recommend allowing limited bow-and-arrow deer hunting on some town-owned parcels of land, saying the decision represents the only viable option to manage what they say is an unsustainable deer population.

The discussion and hearing, in which residents filled the seats at the Weston Community Center, was the last of a series of such meetings. Information-gathering began last October, and included several online surveys to gauge the public’s perception. The commission will pose its recommendation to the Weston Board of Selectmen, which will discuss the issue on June 11.

Commission Chair Laurie Bent opened the meeting by summarizing recent efforts to determine the extent of the deer problem, which the commission has “come to believe exceeds biological and cultural sustainability” in Weston, with the population estimated to be 25 deer per square mile. (An ideal population would be six to eight per square mile, said commissioners.)

“It’s an intractable problem,” said Bent. “There is no solution that will please everyone.”

Public comment

Bent then opened the floor for public comment, which, after an initial period of hesitation, yielded a wide array of opinions.

Some supporters of deer hunting said they believed population control was necessary to quell an ever-growing epidemic of Lyme disease, such as Clover Nicholas, who recalled living on Cape Cod before the disease was so known, and believes the large deer population there contributed to “children who (seemed) arthritic.”

“I am very much for controlling the population,” she said.

Also expressing support was Robert Scott, who said he felt there was “a lot of burying our heads in the sand—the problem we have here is as clear as the noses on our faces. We have too many deer.”

But those opposed called into question the morality and humanness of deer hunting, and asked whether other means of population control had been appropriately explored.

Sixteen-year-old Alyssa Wile told the commission she believes the humane way to deal with the population increase is to catch and release the animals, and questioned the cause-and-effect of an increase in Lyme disease with an abundance of deer.

Diane Anderson said that she felt concerned that throughout the meetings on the issue, there was no real exploration into more humane alternatives.

“There are humane ways to manage deer that don’t entail bows and arrows flying around town,” Anderson said. “Please don’t go to drastic measures yet.”

A four-pronged issue

Following public comment, commission members reviewed what they defined as the four components to the issue of deer overpopulation, as determined during research and previous meetings: damage to yards and crops, damage to the forest ecosystem, car crashes caused by deer, and an increase in Lyme disease.

Commission member Brian Donahue said that while there was no substantial damage to crops and plants before early 1990s, since that time, particularly after the late 1990s, farmers in town have suffered “enormous losses” caused by deer.

“There’s no question that the problem of deer is overwhelming farmers,” he said.

In addressing the issue of forest damage, Bent said research on deer browse indicates that Weston is in a “sub-critical” phase, meaning that “if the population gets much higher, we will see forests that can’t reproduce well and a loss of native and herbaceous species.”

In terms of car crashes, commissioner Roberta Pearle Lamb said there were some 32 deer-related accidents in the years from 2001-2011, with increased incidents on Highland Street, Rte. 20, and Rte. 117.

Lastly, the commission members discussed the increased deer population’s impact in Lyme disease, saying that other measures to reduce ticks, such as pesticides, are largely temporary or unsuccessful and that a reduction in the deer population would, over time, quell the tick population as well.

“Deer are a critical part of a tick’s life cycle, and if we interrupt the cycle, it seems to be the case that we will interrupt Lyme (disease) to some extent,” said Bent.

Other measures deemed ineffective, impractical

Commission members told the audience that while it had discussed at length other means of reducing the deer population—namely, transporting the deer or sterilizing them—all were ultimately deemed ineffective, expensive, or impractical.

The concept of trapping and transferring deer, while possibly seeming “appealing,” is a “non-starter,” said Donahue.

“No one wants our deer,” he said, with Bent adding that survival rates of relocated deer are “very low.”

Current means of sterilizing female deer involve capturing, tranquilizing, and implanting the animals with hormones for two years, to the tune of $300-$1,000 per animal, per year, a concept also deemed impractical by the commission.

What’s more, said Donahue, “I’m not convinced it’s any more respectful to deer to (interfere) with their fertility than killing them.”

Commission recommends bow hunting

The discussion concluded with the commission voicing unanimous support of what it deemed the only means of safe and efficacious population control—bow hunting.

Donahue said that bow hunting, when done in a managed way by town-licensed hunters from a tree stand in a downward trajectory, is “intrinsically fairly safe.”

“There has not been an accident between a hunter and a non-hunter since the state started keeping records,” said Hunt. “That’s a pretty impressive safety record.”

In addressing the morality of the issue, Donahue said, “We acknowledge it’s a difficult problem. But (this is) the relationship between humans and animals for a long time. It makes a great deal of sense for the circumstances we’re in.”

And while Donahue also acknowledged that bow hunting would inevitably result in some “difficult deaths” for deer that aren’t killed instantly, “if the population continues to rise, they will die in other cruel ways.”

But Anderson said she felt the commission’s decision was “preordained” and that it had not adequately considered other means of population control, a point countered by Bent, who said the commission did not dismiss the alternatives “out of hand.”

“I don’t want to encourage the killing of animals, but I don’t see another way to address the problem,” Bent said.

The meeting wrapped with a motion by Donahue to recommend to the Board of Selectmen the authorization of a bow hunting program on selected portions of town-owned land, which members approved unanimously.