Deer-feeding fines are useless, unenforceable and the beasts would just eat even more garden plants.
Three cheers to Oak Bay council for having the intestinal fortitude to vote for a deer cull against the wishes of a very small but extremely loud group of deer huggers.
Unfortunately, a cull of 25 deer will not make even a dent in the population. My guess is that there are probably that many in one square kilometre and the vacuum will be quickly filled by deer from surrounding areas.
Road warning signs are useless. When a deer comes flying out of the bushes or from between cars there just is not enough time to stop. Deer repellents are expensive, have to be re-sprayed about once a week and do not work. Deer-proof plantings are ugly and the only decent plants that I have found they won’t eat are rhodos, lavender, Iris and monkshood.
Fences are not an option. They’re expensive and would need to be seven feet high surrounding the entire property.
The only answer is a massive cull done by all municipalities in the Capital Region. So far, nothing has been done and now the does are all pregnant and will each be spitting out two or three babies in a couple of months.
It’s time to stop dithering and get rid of these mangy, tick laden, Lyme disease carrying, garden destroying beasts before somebody gets killed. Or maybe that’s what it will take to get some action.
Myrna Smith
Oak Bay