Written by DCist Contributor Lauren Evans
If you, like me, only understand deer in terms of what you learned watching Bambi (impossibly cute, friends with skunks, animated) then you probably have a hard time understanding why their lives are being threatened in Rock Creek Park.
Though they have long been one of the Park’s most charming features, the deer, as of late, have been getting out of control. Devouring the shrubbery, threatening the habitats of other creatures, and, apparently, storming people’s houses: the benign Bambi has turned into a nuisance, and according to some, a threat to safety.
With 82 deer per square mile (versus in 2006, when there were 58 deer per square mile) no one is arguing that their increased population hasn’t become a problem. The disagreement comes with what should be done with them, namely, whether the park should amend its hunting policies to allow professional sharpshooters to kill them.
While the hunting would be left solely to the sharpshooters (public hunting would still be banned), there are a variety of alternatives, which were discussed at a public meeting last night at the Rock Creek Nature Center (WAMU has a solid wrap-up of the meeting). Rather than killing them, the preferred alternative for pro-deer lifers is a combination of sterilization, deer-contraceptive (a thought that elicits some terrible mental images) and plant protection, which would involve erecting barriers to prevent the deer from decimating the greenery.
Of course, the hunting method would also involve other preventative measures, like sterilization. But as John Hadidian, director of the Urban Wildlife Program at the Humane Society of the United States, told the City Paper: “We don’t think that the deer should be blamed for something that is natural to them.”
What do you think? The public can comment on the draft of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and deer management plan until October 2. If you feel strongly about saving the lives of these majestic animals, or just want to watch Park Service try to wrest a condom onto one, now’s you chance.
