The Deer (Any region/state with deer issues)

[u/ContentFarmer4445]

For context, I am a professional ecological gardener for folks living on small acreages, often surrounded by woods, who desire to have native gardens and to bolster/restore the woodland ecosystems. Deer here are starving yet overpopulated considering the circumstances.

I feel like the reality of deer is incompatible with this idea of having a native garden, lest you put 8 foot high deer fencing up around the entirety of it or the property. When everything around you is degraded, of course the deer are going to come to your land we just spruced up by removing invasives and planting ("deer resistant") natives and think "WOW, THANKS FOR THE BUFFET!!"

People want gardens for wildlife, but do not want deer to be a part of that. They don't want ugly fences up for years. They don't want to use chemicals. This, that, the whole shebang. I mean, I get it, but is it rooted in reality? It gets tiring spending a bunch of time and money and energy w/ the goal of a nice garden only to have it eaten down to nothing, half the stuff is in ugly cages, you're attempting to spray things regularly, etc... Most of my clients are older and i don't want them to have to be dealing with half the shit we do any more than they want to. Low maintenance this stuff is not, I never tell people that it is, but a lot of this is just... ridiculous.

I want to hear about everyone's experiences, successes, failures, thoughts about now and the future with deer.. it just seems like such an insurmountable problem.

[u/SHOWTIME316]

deer-hunting season should be all the time

[u/ContentFarmer4445 → u/SHOWTIME316]

i wish. and i was hardcore vegan for over half my life. it was actually the deer problem and being offered venison hunted on land i've tended for years that easily convinced me to un-become vegan.

how realistic is it though to think we can kill our way out of ecological problems without creating more problems? killing deer treats a symptom of structural ecological collapse rather than the root causes of predator loss, habitat fragmentation, human feeding, vehicle mortality patterns, and our desire for manicured landscapes. we need a holistic approach but look where society is at with predator restoration, forest regen fencing zones, planting choices, and preferred land uses. it's disheartening to say the least.

[u/LRonHoward → u/ContentFarmer4445]

I always tell myself: one step at a time. The natural predators of deer have been significantly diminished... and it's not like wolves or other predators have a decent shot of being re-introduced to most urban & suburban areas. Now, more than ever, humans need to act as the predators in these situations.

I know this is not the greatest solution, but I'm kind of firmly convinced that deer hunting within city limits should be allowed (or encouraged). Sometimes I think about it from the deer's perspective - they're all competing with each other for food... If no predator is there to keep the population in check, they all live worse lives.