Birth Control for Deer?

Recently I visited my hometown of Babylon, New York, located on the south shore of Long Island. While walking to the Fire Island Lighthouse with my mother, I spotted the sign pictured above. My reaction was a mixture of amusement, horror, and relief.

On one hand, I'm glad efforts are being made to control the deer population without killing them. (This article from Audobon details the method of birth control given.) On the other hand, I can't help feeling that it doesn't quite seem fair to shoot these unknowing does with darts of deer Depo-Provera. Who are we to think we have the right to tell another species not to reproduce? Of course, most of us, myself included, find it perfectly humane to neuter our pet cats and dogs. The shelters are already overrun with stray animals, and Fire Island is overrun with deer who are, in a sense, almost as domesticated as pets. Years of being fed by well-meaning humans have made the deer unafraid of us. What disturbs me, I suppose, is how few remaining wild things are truly allowed to be wild anymore. We humans have exerted our control over creatures great and small, from the wolves some farmers fear will eat our livestock to domestic housecats, obligate carnivores who are sometimes fed vegan cat food by well-meaning animal rights activists.

As a general rule, I am not opposed to hunting. In fact, I'm more in favor of hunting wild animals than factory farming and raising animals specifically for our own consumption. I don't believe there is anything morally wrong with eating meat as long as the animals are raised and slaughtered as humanely as possible. I think hunting is fine as long as we use as much of the animal's body is used as possible for food, hide, etc. I do have a problem with hunters who shoot animals simply for sport, for the thrill of the chase and to prove yet again that humans are stronger, smarter, and more important than any other animal on Earth. We have forgotten that we are no more than animals ourselves. We forget that we are part of the food chain, too.

Would it be wrong to hunt the deer on Fire Island to help bring the population down? I don't think so, as long as the hunters had a taste for venison and an appreciation of deerskin. Would I like to see deer killed? Of course not. But once upon a time, humans were among the predators who kept the deer population in check. Now that most of us are too busy eating cows, most of us have forgotten about that.

Being human carries with it a great responsibility. We have a responsibility to care for and protect other creatures, while at the same time keeping our own place in the food chain. There is no easy solution, it seems.

(Incidentally, San Jose, California planned to cull its deer population using bows and arrows last year, according to NBC11. I can't say I like that plan, either, unless someone actually ate all that venison.)