I sit in amazement while the debate on deer depredation drags on.
Some of the solutions offered are, sadly, only too symptomatic of current resolution methodology.
The real problem is not the deer but rather the arrogant sense of entitlement we humans seem to have. Those damned deer invade our gardens, eat our flowers and shrubs, cross our roads and leap in front of our cars. How dare they!
Where deer and humans coexist, there are bound to be mishaps. A random Bambi will ambush an unsuspecting driver and do a soft shoe on their car’s hood. But the number of such accidents account for a small proportion of deer-car encounters; a larger percentage are caused by bad driving habits.
Most of us have at least one bad driving habit.
We roll through stop signs, or drive through yellow lights; we overlook cyclists or ignore playground speed limits.
So it’s no surprise that we ignore speed controls because deer may be sharing our roads or lurking in herds in the bushes. Current arguments which blame the deer rather than the driver are misdirected at best, as are current proposals to cull the deer.
Our community is changing, of course, but think of the many reasons why we chose to live here: the quiet; the natural beauty; the civility.
Don’t waste local resources on culling deer, but on enhancing those qualities which drew us here.
We could start with a self-imposed good driver initiative; or failing that, submit to increased enforcement. Add courteous drivers to all the great reasons to live here.
A decade from now, I would rather be telling my grandchildren that we got rid of the bad drivers than that we’d killed off the deer.
As for the gardens, plant a few more hostas; they’re good for the environment and deer love them.
G. Tardo
Oak Bay