The Current, CBC Aug 22 am

The Current, a national CBC radio program in Toronto, hosted by Anna Maria Tremonti, asked DeerSafe to take part in a half hour segment featuring a US author, Jim Sturba, author of “Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards Into Battlegrounds."

Oak Bay mayor Nils Jensen was also invited, and DeerSafe was given 10 minutes of questions by phone to “include a clip or two of your group's thoughts on the planned cull for him to react to.”

Most Canadian listeners will not know Jim Sturba. His inclusion in the dialog on urban wildlife in Canada needs to be qualified by some context with the US “battleground” that is urban deer. Hunter's rights in the US supercede private property owner's rights. Speaking harshly to a hunter that one meets on the road is punishable by law. Another issue in the US that hasn't arisen in Canada to date is the artificial inflation of deer populations by hunting groups who sow fields of deer feed and selectively cull in order to maximize numbers. During hunting season deer/car collisions soar when deer flee hunters across a limitless range.

This makes the participation of a Vancouver Island mayor and a local animal rights group a specious inclusion in a Canadian context.

Jim Sturba: “All the while our well-meaning efforts to protect animals allowed wild populations to burgeon out of control, causing damage costing billions, degrading ecosystems, and touching off disputes that polarized communities, setting neighbor against neighbor.”

Animal cruelty is what has polarized communities, setting neighbour against neighbour. As Canadians we need to scratch beneath the surface of this manufactured issue. Complaints about desimated gardens are at the heart of deer hysteria in British Columbia. The proof is in the letters to local BC municipalities that lead up to a need for “action.” These deer are caught unawares in urban expansion and we need to do things differently.

The Current will air tomorrow morning. http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/mobile/podcasts/podcasts.html