Re: Herd of deer acost Oak Bay resident (Oak Bay News, Friday, Sept. 7)
There is a front page article regarding attacks by deer on people and dogs. Needless to say, this is extremely disturbing, and in fact, amounts to somewhat of a crisis. People cannot function freely in their daily lives if they feel constantly fearful about how to manage the wild animals in their environment. It occurs to me that the municipality of Oak Bay, as well as the other municipalities in the Greater Victoria region, should take decisive measures immediately, to explicitly inform the public about how to deal with interactions and confrontations with deer. This requires more than just advice printed in the newspapers. Possibly, the organization, Wild ARC, would be willing to give talks and workshops providing much needed information and instruction.
The particular problem of deer and canine interaction is especially crucial. Also, knowing the correct way of how to manage a cornered or entangled deer is absolutely necessary. If enough people press the municipality to provide truly effective education about this pressing issue, some concrete progress might finally take place. This is essential, and it is long overdue.
Claire Paterson
Oak Bay