Monday, September 17, 2012

FOCUS ON FACTS, NOT FEAR

Letters written to prey on the fears of people regarding deer and disease compliment the junk science the county is using to justify hunting in our parks. A glaring omission is the mention of the real danger, weapons being used in neighborhoods.

Deer exclosures are the county’s proof there are too many deer. Jim Slinsky, host and producer of the "Sportsman's Connection", a nationally syndicated, outdoor-talk radio program states: Fenced deer exclosures are not science. They are deceptive political tools to rally the public around a deer reduction program.

Regarding disease, the American Lyme Disease Foundation does not advocate for deer killing programs to control the spread of Lyme. Ticks carry Lyme, not deer. The black-legged tick was named after the White-Footed Deer mouse. Ticks feed on 50 different species of mammals.

Studies found the elimination of deer actually caused tick "hot spots"
or high concentrations of ticks on small areas of land. Other wildlife such as rodents brought infected ticks into the area resulting in tick concentrations. ("Localized Deer Absence Leads to Tick Amplification" by Sarah E. Perkins et. al., Ecology, 2006).

A Senior Scientist from the Cary Institute of Ecology writes: A comprehensive review of the scientific literature on the relationship between numbers of deer and numbers of ticks reveals the majority of studies find no statistical correlation... deer do not infect ticks with Lyme bacteria, and actually reduce the infection prevalence in tick populations;” Richard S. Ostfeld, Ph.D., Lyme Disease: The Ecology of a Complex System (2010, Oxford University Press).

Claims that humans will catch TB or hemorrhagic disease are irresponsible. Cases of bovine TB in wild deer are extremely rare. No evidence exists that EHD is transmissible to humans. The Michigan Map of Bovine TB Zone provides readers a good graphic.
 
Focus on facts, not fear.

Susan Rhem-Westhoff
Defenders of Urban Wildlife, President
Spring Lake Township

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