Deer concerns

rom Dan Jordan

Lenox

Farmers who own livestock have the responsibility to take proper care of their animals. They have fences to keep them in. Insurance covers damage to motor vehicles when the animals do manage to get out. Food, water, shelter and veterinary care are provided. There are regulations they have to follow when an animal dies.

DNR owns deer. We, the taxpayers, pay the salary for DNR employees. Our motor vehicle insurance pays for damage when we are unlucky enough to have one their deer hit us. Medical insurance pays for injuries.

We pay the DNR for hunting and fishing licenses. You surely don’t want to get caught hunting or fishing without one or taking a deer out of season.

DNR employees are apparently only paid to protect the deer. When a deer is killed on the road it is not DNR that comes and moves the carcass off the road. That is the responsibility of the motorist, DOT or local law enforcement. It is shoved off in the ditch to contaminate the air and water.

Can a farmer toss his dead animals in a ditch even on his own property? Only if he doesn’t get caught. DNR uses private property to dispose of some of the deer carcasses. The farmer has to follow all of the many DNR regulations.

The EPA is concerned about the combine dust that only lasts a couple of months and the rain settles that. Maybe they should be more concerned with water and air contamination from the DNR deer. It takes a lot more than a little rain to get rid of the stench that lingers for weeks. The rain washes all that contamination into our water supplies.

The deer population has exploded over the years while the pheasants have decreased. Maybe the hunting seasons should be switched. We would reduce the deer and increase the pheasants while lessening the damages to crops and private property, not to mention saving a lot of HUMAN lives.

If DNR owns the deer, then they should be ones to dispose of them property like the farmer. They should carry insurance to cover injuries and damages. We pay their wages. The least they can do is take care of their property.