A radio report, I guess I can't say detailed, shed some light on a
plan to alleviate the impact of a growing deer population in
Rochester Hills.
However, the report indicated that the Oakland County Sheriff's
Office would take some of the deer. Take? Where?
The word missing from the report was kill.
I think what they will do is shoot and kill the deer.
Don't know why we can't be clear about that. If the city's leaders
determines the deer risk lives, then something should be done.
Bullets are pretty cheap, as long as they don't fly into people's
homes or heads. Fences or moving the deer seems rather expensive and
ineffective.
But there's no need to sugar coat what's happening, especially during
hunting season, as thousands of deer are being shot and killed this
week throughout the state.
By the way, my experience with the deer in Rochester Hills involves
eaten plants and little piles of poop under an apple tree. They are
bold. Once, last summer, one was eating my plants right by my front
door, and I opened it and stared and it looked at me like I was the
nuisance.
Of course, I do like to let my dog chase them, asking "Mason, who's
here, who's here?" That gets him going and the black lab loves to fly
out the door and give them a good chase.
(Of course, a recent skunking has lessened my desire to have him
chasing critters.)
If the city wants to pay to kill deer, then hopefully it works to
reduce car/deer crashes. Let's just hope it's done safely.
I don't mind them that much, but I won't particularly miss them.
However, it is somewhat pleasant to see a group of six strolling by
calmly in the morning while the sounds of chaotic traffic loom
overhead from the nearby major road. A little of country life is not
a bad thing, and usually I'm not driving fast enough in Rochester
Hills to hit a deer by a road. Now, along those highways in northern
Michigan, oh wait, we have hunting season and that's still a problem.
My guess is that I'll still have some goofy shapes trees come next
year and I'll have to watch my shoes under the apple tree.