Collisions Blamed On Hunters . . .

[Tallbear]

Animal rights activists are attempting to turn the public against hunting with claims that deer/car collisions increase in the fall as "deer are flushed out of the woods by hunters." The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies last week issued a release (http://www.twelvehorses.com/ct/D0Y3MR/1XJIBH8Q/*http://www.fishwildlife.org/press_102006.html) setting the record straight with scientific reasons why collisions rise this time of year, adding that if hunting were lost as a wildlife management tool, state wildlife agencies estimate an additional 50,000 human injuries per year and $3.8 billion in additional auto repair costs.



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[joen]

...and mushroom hunters/bird watchers the rest of the year, as well.

[Scoop]

If this is true, what flushes them out of the woods and onto our roads during all of the other months of the year? (car/deer accidents don't occur ONLY during hunting season)

[alex-vitek]

We can blame this all on the state agencies involved which have been saying for years that hunting pressure does cause an increase in deer movement.

However, we know the anti hunting zealots are twisting it into blatent statements that the hunting community is to blame and that it is not just "cause and effect".

[lee]

There is no doubt that hunting DOES stir up the herd and I bet there is an increase in Car Deer strikes. But over all that is just a blip in the rest of the year statistics. There is approx. 70 K reported deer / car strikes in Michigan each year. The real value is probably 20 -30 K more for the people that had a drink that night or no insurance and didn't want to get a ticket for it.They simply didn't report it or had minimal damage and just drove away. Although the anti's are using this for their beliefs, all it means to me is for ALL drivers to be extra , extra , double dog dare you careful when driving during Deer hunting season. As a side note, My father who lives in the UP believes that deer are getting smarter and smarter with each hunting season. The deer "sense" deer huntiog season and many just disappear during this time. He sees them all the time and they live with area residents in harmony but those critters just disappear during hunting season. After the season is over, they reappear!. Natural selection is creating Uber Deers.

[alex-vitek]

Natural selection is creating Uber Deers.
Survival of the fittest has supposedly been disproved. Now we have Uber Deer! So, Darwin was right.

[Done Deal]

Ya ever notice how it is seldom mentioned that during the fall, farmers are harvesting their crops? Imagine that you are a deer, have know this particular stand of corn all your life and lo and behold, one day some big, noisy machine is cutting your house down? You and your family run to the next place and the same thing is happening. And then, some horny buck or two is trying to mount your mom so everybody is running all over...and then there are these camo dudes with sharp sticks and later all these goof balls in orange. And try crossing those hard black slabs...life is tough on a deer this time of year. Dang two legged critters anyway...