Bambi in Fairfax County's Bullseye
More meat for the homeless
By CHRIS NEEDHAM
Updated 11:31 AM EDT, Tue, Nov 17, 2009
Fairfax County's Bambis better look out. The hunters are coming.
Faced with an out-of-control population of the fine little fuzzy animals, Fairfax County is letting hunters into two local parks: Colvin Run and Laurel Hill.
Now before you worry about a bunch of yahoos in safety orange wandering around blasting anything and everything that moves with shotguns, relax. These guys are professionals. And they're not using firearms anyway. They're reverting to their childhood, playing Cowboys and Indians, blasting the antlered woodland creatures from high up in the sky with bows and arrows, reports the Post.
Suburban Whitetail Deer Management of Northern Virginia, which is a nonprofit volunteer deer hunting group of people who like to kill for sport, is running the hunt, which lasts through mid-January. They claim that the meat from the kills will go to a good cause; local homeless shelters will get all the deer jerky and venison stew they can stand.
Needless to say, animal rights groups and some residents aren't happy. They express concern for the safety -- which spurred Fairfax County to close Colvin Run during the hunt -- and for the well-being of the soon-to-be-murdered deer.
The county argues that there are far too many deer for the environment to support. The lack of natural predators -- besides the front grill of SUVs -- has led to an estimated 60 to 100 deer per square mile, which is well above the 20 to 25 they believe the ecosystem can handle.
It's an issue that could soon come to D.C., too. Rock Creek Park faces a similar deer problem, and the Park Service is looking for ways to safely reduce the numbers.
So if you see Ted Nugent running through the streets of D.C., go warn the deer.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Nov 17, 2009 11:01 AM EDT
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