The recent letter from Carol Newton (May 2) is to be commended for its honesty. Finally, an anti-deer voice that admits what I’ve suspected all along: this is not about safety, it’s about gardens. Please, cull and relocation advocates, just be like Ms. Newton and ‘fess up; you’ll feel much better once you do.
All this hysterical nonsense about people being injured and danger to pets and children is just a front for the real motivation: they’re annoyed because the deer are eating their plants and shrubs.
Anyway, I have some good news: salvation is at hand. Two new technologies are emerging that promise to prevent the scourge of deer-nibbled cedars and flowers: fences and netting. I’ve also heard that radical green activists are experimenting with plantings that are unpalatable to deer, but that’s probably just wild-eyed lefty propaganda.
If I’m sounding flippant, it’s because this is a silly issue. The deer are not dangerous, they’re just wildlife. We should feel proud that Penticton is still country enough that we have bit of wildlife left. Yes, deer have nuisance value, but so do other animals we interact with. Woodpeckers and flickers like to bang away at our exterior woodwork, mice and spiders invite themselves into our homes without permission, raccoons get into our garbage.
Why are the deer being singled out for such severe reprimand, and why are proponents expecting to use tax dollars to solve their garden problems? I wouldn’t expect the city to make a final solution for my woodpeckers; why are these misguided anti-deer warriors asking for public cash to fix a minor problem?
Council’s budget is tight enough as it is without frivolous campaigns like this deer crusade. Put up a fence or some nets and get on with life.
Wally James
Penticton