The idea of trapping deer into corrals to kill them in mass numbers is a cruel and ineffective way of controlling the deer population. Deer are panicked inside of these corrals and often receive injuries trying to run, making it hard for the shooters to get a clean shot. The deer suffer.

Taken from Laura Simon's article:

Mt. Lebanon’s deer killing plan is a huge mistake. There’s good reason other communities aren’t using corrals to entrap deer and then trying to shoot them point-blank.

 First, this method is inefficient. Few deer will even come into the corrals. By virtue of being located in “safe” park areas, those deer who are trapped won’t even be the same ones bothering people in the residential areas.

 Second, this new plan is a total waste of taxpayer money. Deer numbers will quickly pop up again as new deer move into the area and more fawns are born. It’s a phenomenon called “compensatory reproduction,” which means that when deer have better nutrition, they breed at a younger age and have higher fawn survival. The net result is a population surge after a hunting decline.

 Third, this plan is inhumane. When the corral gate shuts, the deer will panic and slam into the fencing. The result will be broken legs and necks. If the city goes ahead with this misguided plan, we highly encourage residents to demand that an objective observer or the press be allowed to see this spectacle.

 Fourth, the $500 per deer could have been more wisely spent on a sterilization project, which would have cost a bit more, yet actually lowered the population.

 Fifth, it is worth questioning the safety of any plan in which deer are shot, night and day, with rifles in areas so close to human dwellings.

 Finally, we question what appears to be a real conflict of interest in this case. The company that received the contract to kill deer is the same company that’s been paid to advise Mt. Lebanon officials.

 The Humane Society of the United States urges Mt. Lebanon to show true leadership and invest in an innovative, effective, humane and long-term solution. That is, one that utilizes deer-resistant gardening strategies, state-of-the-art fertility control options and successful collision reduction strategies already in operation elsewhere.

 Overall, the city’s decision to allow deer to be corralled and shot is inhumane, reckless and doomed to fail. Let’s hope community leaders have the good sense to call it off.

 Laura Simon

Wildlife Biologist at The Humane Society of the United States

 

http://www.thealmanac.net/article/20150129/OPINION02/150129946

 

Mt. Lebanon officials are now considering setting up these corrals on private property locations. For residents, this means it could be in your neighbords yard. Residents may be able to see these atrocities happening from their own home. They also may be set up on the property of assisted living homes, as well as businesses on Castle Shannon Blvd. These will be easily viewable by people, including children and the elderly in the assisted living complexes.