From the CRD Deer Management Website Submissions

‐‐‐‐Original Message‐‐‐‐‐

From: Ginny Gareau [mailto:]

Sent: Monday, July 02, 2012 12:01 PM

To: Deer Management

Subject: deer management

Dear Committee,

Having lived in our present home since 1965 ( adjacent to Mt. Tolmie Park ) I know for a fact that for the first 27

years and possibly more, we had no deer in the park or in the area, so those persons who say we took over the 'deer terrain' are wrong. Deer are wild animals and should be living in wild areas not in an urban environment. No one that I know has taken a deer number count for the last 20 years so when persons say they are increasing, it is from anecdotal evidence or possibly sensible reasoning that animals proliferate if not eaten by predators ..If issues are not confronted when they start, they only increase in size( as has the deer problem) and are therefore harder to correct.

Obviously the committee has thought a great deal about the issue and so I would like to comment on each solution.

1.Hazing and frightening....where would the frightened deer go? I would suggest that hunger supersedes fright.

2.Repellants...I have found that Bobbix does quite a good job but I wonder at the environmental result if everyone used it?

3.Fencing... very expensive and one has to keep in mind that a deer can clear 8 feet.

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4.Landscape alternatives...this can be partly successful but as hunger increases, the deer become less discriminatory... and the young eat almost anything.

5. Capture and relocate and capture and euthanize...i feel this would be the most successful and I think most voters would not mind paying

$1.00 extra tax to pay for this.( $300,000 should go a long way.) 6.

Controlled public hunting and sharp shooting... I would think rather difficult to do safely in an urban environment.

7. Capture and sterilize....this would stop their proliferation but not their eating habits!

I would hope for those who like looking at rabbits or deer out their windows, please buy a dog or cat to satisfy these animal yearnings.

Sincerely,

Ginny Gareau

From: Kerri Ward

Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2012 8:37 AM

To: Deer Management; 'Jocelyn Skrlac'; 'Lisa Kadonaga'; 'Patrick O'Rourke'; 'Philip Tom';

'Richard Christiansen'; 'Robert Moody'; 'Robin Bassett'; 'Sol Kinnis'; 'Terry Michell';

'Wendy Fox'

Subject: RE: deer management

Despite Ginny Gareau's claim "we had no deer in the park or in the area" for "the first 27 years and possibly more" there are records and documentation that show otherwise. Deer have inhabited the Mt. Tolmie area for thousands of years; it is only in recent years, due to increased urbanization and the loss of natural habitat, that the deer have become more visible to residents.

There are dozens of aerial and ground photographs, population data, planning and archival documents, and maps showing continual growth and development since 1965, when Mrs. Gareau moved to her home. She neglects to

mention the dramatic increase in residential development (houses, apartment buildings and condominiums) and the building of three shopping malls and numerous commercial buildings in the immediate Mt. Tolmie area since 1965. In addition, the significant growth of UVIC and its surrounding environment in recent years is also a contributing factor to loss of habitat and visibility of wildlife. I would be happy to bring documentation to a CAG meeting.

Kerri