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Jared Bornstein is a Democratic lobbyist, hunting advocate and registered Maine guide. He lives in Skowhegan.
Recently there was news coverage of the problem of deer over-population in Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island. Evidencing the overpopulation of deer, the article outlined that in Southwest Harbor an estimated half of the car accidents involved deer. Although that math appears to be a bit off, there is a much higher risk of hitting a deer in Southwest Harbor than in the state in general.
Last year, there were 32,015 reported car crashes in Maine. According to MDOT’s Crash Query, 5,900 of those involved deer. Using my remedial math skills, 5,900 is nowhere near half of 32,015. It is about 18 percent. In Southwest Harbor, there were 25 car crashes last year, with eight of them involving deer, according to the MDOT data. That’s a third of crashes in that community. So, your risk of hitting a deer in Southwest Harbor is much higher compared to the rest of the state.
Maine has an overabundance of deer, which the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has been working to address. The state’s deer population is healthy, maybe a smidge too large but well managed by IF&W using evidence-based management methods, with the main means being regulated hunting and harvesting of deer.
Maine as a whole has had trouble meeting our deer harvest goals, which can result in some biological problems for the herd, but our new doe permit system shows promise in fixing the issue.
There are many more problems with deer overpopulation than just car accidents. A scarcity of food is the most obvious one, followed by diseases, and lastly it can really mess with their breeding and genetics if there are too many deer too close to each other. Because some folks on MDI are feeding the deer, starvation might not be as big of an issue, though that’s assuming the unnatural food available combined with natural food is enough to supply the herd. That is probably impossible to know for sure either way. Stopping the feeding, as some have suggested, would surely starve out the herd. Starvation is a tortuous death. Essentially they grew the population by feeding them, and now are going to shrink the population by starving them. This dynamic is animal cruelty defined.
In the News Center Maine coverage, Karen Redderson, the Southwest Harbor town manager, was quoted saying “We’re going to bring a biologist in to talk to the select board and public meetings to help us understand and identify, you know, what are some of the best ways to manage that deer population.”
Mount Desert Island banned deer hunting in 1905. At the time, deer were not very common on the island, likely due to the deforestation that happened during those early years. Banning hunting originally is not a sin in my book. It’s absolutely reasonable to protect herds from over harvesting if their numbers can’t support a regulated hunt. However, it is a sin to continue the ban when the population is as well off as the out-of-staters who own property on the island.
I think the situation on MDI is unscientific, immoral and cruel in ways only folks who spend more time in the woods than on sidewalks understand. Disease, starvation, car accidents — these are the worst ways a deer can die. The best way? A quick, respectful and ethical arrow from a hunter, I believe. If you care about deer being a respected, cherished and managed part of Maine’s ecosystem, you should support hunting. If you want deer to die of starvation, disease and vehicle collisions you would oppose it. I believe the only moral, ethical and science-based solution for MDI’s deer problem is regulated hunting.
I am not suggesting rifle hunting, though I do rifle hunt. I understand that MDI is densely populated. MDI is not unique in Maine though, and many of the municipalities that look like MDI, like Islesboro for example, are included in Maine’s expanded archery zones. This allows bow and crossbow hunters the opportunity to both manage the herd and feed their families.
That way the death of our deer is not in vain. That death has value in sustenance for a Maine family. Each time a deer dies on MDI’s roads or of starvation or disease, the ban on hunting is largely to blame as well as the folks who support that ban.
I know it seems backwards, but we hunters do truly care about our deer herd. We also love watching them, seeing them healthy and prospering. That is not what’s going on on MDI. The solution is simple: end the ban on hunting by allowing MDI to be included in the expanded archery zones.
