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Letters to the Editor
Ordinance prohibiting feeding deer makes no sense
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
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Dear Editor:
The Rollingwood City Council is now considering a new ordinance to make it a criminal offence to feed the wild deer in the city. Let me ask, “Would you prefer that the deer eat your shrubs, plants and flowers?” The wild deer were here long before anyone else and I’m sure our police would say there were enough felons around to take their time without anyone calling in a neighbor for feeding deer in violation of the ordinance.
I’m against such an ordinance, and I hope the Rollingwood City Council will throw it out.
Harry F. Rogers
Former Rollingwood mayor
Who hasn’t witnessed the delight of a child, grandchild, or out-of-town visitor at the sight of a doe and her fawn or a majestic buck? Is the sight of a chinch bug-infested, drought-distressed lawn so wonderful?
Rollingwood allows two-legged fauna with chainsaws to cut 100-year-old live oaks to the ground. Yet we begrudge the deer a few munches of St. Augustine? Where are your priorities, Rollingwood?
The deer have no interest in the jewels of the hill country landscape – live oaks, mountain laurels and crape myrtle. Can’t grass and shrub lovers out-smart the deer with scare-crow sprinklers, fencing, netting, and plants that the deer don’t like? Encourage the deer to visit your neighbors who love them.
Isn’t it our ability to reason that is supposed to distinguish us from other beasts? Surely we can figure out a way to co-exist with these peace loving flowers of the animal kingdom. Use your brains, people.
You need to understand that the more you feed the deer, the more there will be. If well fed most deer will have 2 young every single year. Given that there is no hunting in the city limits if people feed the deer regularly the population will continue to increase over time.
Please read this article and then consider if feeding deer is in the deers’ best interests: http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/feeding-deer-corn-is-not-the-best-thing-to-do/14293.html