Here's an article from the San Angelo Standard Times newspaper. My comments will follow in another post.
AUSTIN - State Rep. Scott Campbell doesn't want to seem like the killer of Bambi's mom; he just thinks something must be done to reduce the number of deer in Texas.
Campbell, a San Angelo Republican, has heard from frustrated farmers and angry suburbanites with damaged vehicles. Deer are becoming a menace, they've told him.
Campbell said he will introduce a bill during this legislative session to kill off some of the state's deer. He doesn't know when he will draft deer legislation or what it would entail. That would be worked out later, he said.
No one knows how many deer are in Texas, but some experts have estimated the number to be about 4 million.
''I'm not trying to eradicate the deer population; I'm just trying to get control,'' Campbell said. ''The state owns these deer, so I believe it's the responsibility of the state to get a hold of the deer population.''
Jerry Multer, manager of the Wall Co-op south of San Angelo, also said it is the state's job to do something. Multer regularly hears from cotton farmers who complain about deer ruining their crops.
''Years and years ago, we didn't have any deer problem,'' Multer said. ''Now they just multiply like rabbits.''
Multer said one cotton farmer told him recently that deer diminished his crop so much that he was losing money.
The only way to fix the problem would be to kill off a larger portion of the population, said Warren Ballard, a professor at Texas Tech University's Department of Range Wildlife and Fisheries.
Ideally, Ballard said, one deer would live on every 20 acres. Now, the ratio is closer to one deer for every five acres in some parts of Texas, he said. To some extent, that is because of improper management by hunters and landowners. Too often, hunters kill only bucks and leave the does, Ballard said.
''Most landowners are too conservative with their deer herd,'' Ballard said. ''They need to kill a pile of does.''
Not everyone sees the deer as a problem requiring state action.
John M. Burson, a Farmer's Group Insurance agent in Wichita Falls, said he has seen quite a few deer and processed his share of insurance claims after accidents with deer. He has even hit some in his car.
''I just don't see it as a problem that warrants legislation,'' he said.
Statewide, the deer population is greater than it was 50 years ago and some areas have a lot more deer than others, said Mike Berger, director of the wildlife division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Some areas of the state could benefit from better land management, he said.
Whenever private landowners ask, the state agency works with them to create free management programs, Berger said. The more people who understand how the eco-system works, the better off wildlife resources would be, he said. ~~~
AUSTIN - State Rep. Scott Campbell doesn't want to seem like the killer of Bambi's mom; he just thinks something must be done to reduce the number of deer in Texas.
Campbell, a San Angelo Republican, has heard from frustrated farmers and angry suburbanites with damaged vehicles. Deer are becoming a menace, they've told him.
Campbell said he will introduce a bill during this legislative session to kill off some of the state's deer. He doesn't know when he will draft deer legislation or what it would entail. That would be worked out later, he said.
No one knows how many deer are in Texas, but some experts have estimated the number to be about 4 million.
''I'm not trying to eradicate the deer population; I'm just trying to get control,'' Campbell said. ''The state owns these deer, so I believe it's the responsibility of the state to get a hold of the deer population.''
Jerry Multer, manager of the Wall Co-op south of San Angelo, also said it is the state's job to do something. Multer regularly hears from cotton farmers who complain about deer ruining their crops.
''Years and years ago, we didn't have any deer problem,'' Multer said. ''Now they just multiply like rabbits.''
Multer said one cotton farmer told him recently that deer diminished his crop so much that he was losing money.
The only way to fix the problem would be to kill off a larger portion of the population, said Warren Ballard, a professor at Texas Tech University's Department of Range Wildlife and Fisheries.
Ideally, Ballard said, one deer would live on every 20 acres. Now, the ratio is closer to one deer for every five acres in some parts of Texas, he said. To some extent, that is because of improper management by hunters and landowners. Too often, hunters kill only bucks and leave the does, Ballard said.
''Most landowners are too conservative with their deer herd,'' Ballard said. ''They need to kill a pile of does.''
Not everyone sees the deer as a problem requiring state action.
John M. Burson, a Farmer's Group Insurance agent in Wichita Falls, said he has seen quite a few deer and processed his share of insurance claims after accidents with deer. He has even hit some in his car.
''I just don't see it as a problem that warrants legislation,'' he said.
Statewide, the deer population is greater than it was 50 years ago and some areas have a lot more deer than others, said Mike Berger, director of the wildlife division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Some areas of the state could benefit from better land management, he said.
Whenever private landowners ask, the state agency works with them to create free management programs, Berger said. The more people who understand how the eco-system works, the better off wildlife resources would be, he said. ~~~
