We want Metroparks (CMP) head of natural resources Terry Robison to stop killing deer. He claims it's for "conservation," while admitting that the reason there are so many deer in Ohio is because of hunting; this means he acknowledges killing results in rebounding numbers, but then, he condones killing. This is a blatant contradiction. We also want Robison to stop his radio collaring, telemetry study on deer, which results in deer mortality and stress, especially because he told this petitioner that the study results will make no difference in his decision to kill or not.

Since CMPs annual deer killing has not "solved the problem," it actually results in the same or more deer. If that is the case, why not leave them alone? Now that CMP has added its new gem in the emerald necklace, West Creek Reservation in Parma, to its annual slaughterfest where sharpshooters have killed close to 80 deer the past two years, terrified deer egress the park and move southward; they are refuge-seeking. These animals have moved into suburban neighborhoods in Parma and Seven Hills, and now, residents incorrectly perceive there are more deer, and are looking to bow hunting to solve "the problem." This domino effect clearly caused by CMP deer killing has also resulted in an increase in deer-vehicle crashes on Broadview Road between Parma and Seven Hills. Because West Creek was once a lightly patronized marshy greenspace, safe for wildlife, but is now paved over, built on, and frequented on- and off-trail by exponentially more humans. The ripple effect extends to Broadview Heights, North Royalton, Strongsville, and other communities, now with bow hunting on the ballot March 2016. If the parks would just leave the deer alone, they would return to their homes, and balance would be somewhat restored.