Trending
Editor, News-Register:
I feel it necessary to share my thoughts about the upcoming deer culling.
Oglebay Resort is planning on conducting a deer culling for three days in early November. For those of you unfamiliar with the term culling, the dictionary defines culling as " a mass slaughter of a specific targeted animal population", in this case, deer. I do agree that the deer population at Oglebay has proliferated and needs to be reduced.
I have lived in the Bello Vedere section of Ohio County for 25 years and my property is adjacent to the Palmer Golf Course, so I see on a daily basis the deer in and around Oglebay. Many of the deer peacefully and harmlessly stroll through the neighborhood bothering no one. My main problem is not that the deer population needs to be reduced, but rather the method by which Oglebay plans on doing it, i.e, having dozens of bow hunters strategically placed throughout the park and launching hunting arrows at them.
No matter how skilled a bow hunter may be, how many shots will be instant kills, meaning striking the deer with an arrow into the heart or lungs? I believe a large number of deer will only be injured and may run off into the woods only to miserably suffer for hours or even days before they finally perish. Not a pleasant thought, is it.
Let me be perfectly clear, this is not an anti-hunting letter. I have no problem with hunters who legitimately hunt and follow the rules and regulations of the WV DNR. However, I would hardly call a culling hunting.
The deer at Oglebay are so tame they walk right up to you. This would be as the saying goes, "like shooting fish in a barrel." On any given evening you can see families with their young children admiring and, yes, feeding the deer, which is not supposed to occur. It is not the fault of the families with their children and certainly not the fault of the deer, but rather the fault of Oglebay for not enforcing the regulation.
My suggestion, which I believe is much more humane, is to instead of shooting lethal arrows into them why not fire tranquilizing darts, which would render the deer unconscious and therefore easily able to be removed from Oglebay and safely transported to rural sections of Ohio and surrounding counties. For those of you reading this and saying, “Well, there's too many deer everywhere" … let me remind you that official deer hunting begins the week of Thanksgiving and I'm certain that a large number of deer will be harvested, which will greatly reduce the deer population. Is this not a win-win for Oglebay and the deer? Also, my question is was this alternative even discussed by the Oglebay administration and the Wheeling Park Commission board of directors? If not, why not? If it was, why was it not accepted?
In summary, I believe there are many of you throughout the area who strongly feel the same as I do. Let your voices be heard. You can log on to Oglebay's website and click on contact us and there you can leave your message.
Obviously, the deer cannot speak for themselves so we must speak for them.
Charles Porch
Wheeling